


You cowered before me, and I was frightening

by Mertens



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Coffee Shops, College, David Bowie - Freeform, F/M, Friendship, I'd like to make clear that this isn't a college AU though, I'm Bad At Tagging, Romance, Wishes, Workplace, beyond college, but I'm going to tag those as anyway, life after the labyrinth, nor is it any other kind of au, what are tags really?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2018-04-17 09:51:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 38,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4662240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mertens/pseuds/Mertens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Everything that you wanted, I have done."</p>
<p>When she was a child, she wished for an adventure in another world, and he gave it to her. As she gets older, she finds new wishes to make. Is there a chance the Goblin King will take on new roles to play in order to cater to her wishes throughout her life?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

She was fifteen when she first met him. It was a meeting born out of a schoolgirl wish, a wish for a chance to see another world than the one inhabited by stepmothers and algebra homework and curfews. It was a meeting the turned her world upside down, and she would never be the same the again. 

"Everything that you wanted I have done. You asked that the child be taken, I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening. I have reordered time, I have turned the world upside down, and I have done it all for you."

At the time, Sarah hadn't guessed at the meaning veiled behind these words. This was a world of her own construction, with players invited by her own mind. There was only so much he could say before the illusion would be broken. And he did't want to break it. 

"You have no power over me."

And it was true. She held the power. She always had. 

 

She thought about that meeting for a long, long time. She mulled the words and images over in her mind, running her thoughts over them the way one runs their tongue over a hard candy, savouring each flavour and taste. She hid those memories away in corners of her mind, taking them out when she wanted to look at them again or be comforted by their familiarity. Her love of fantasy stayed with her through her senior year at highschool. As graduation approached, so many of her younger self's interests waned, pushed aside by thoughts of SAT scores and college applications and what furniture she would need for her dorm. And for just a little while, she stopped thinking about the Labyrinth, letting it get buried under endless to-do lists and pressure. 

But the Labyrinth wouldn't, couldn't stay away forever. Thoughts of it would creep back to her at night as she lay drifting off to sleep in her dormitory bed, fantastic thoughts that enticed her mind but vanished by morning light, leaving her with the feeling of forgetting something important that was just out of reach but still needed to be found. 

It was two weeks before her first midterm when it happened. In a compulsive fit of cleaning brought on by nerves, she hastily pulled a box out from the back of her closet so she could vacuum. A book from her childhood - the one book she had saved away from the great purge when she moved into her new life. The one book she couldn't, wouldn't let go of. Red leather bound cover and red ribbon bookmark, filled with as many promises and secrets as she had remembered. She sat down right there and flipped through the pages. That was how her roommate found her hours later, sitting in the midst of several boxes with the vacuum cleaner still plugged in, reading a book on the floor. Sarah started, suddenly brought out of her fantasy world by the closing of the front door and the footsteps of Ali as she entered the room and asked if Sarah was okay. Sarah tucked the book into her pocket and stood up, smiling at Ali and saying she was fine. She put the boxes back into the closet sans book and proceeded to put away the vacuum as Ali made dinner. Sarah had cleaned enough for the day, she had something else to fixate on now. 

The following week she thought more about the Labyrinth than she had since she was fifteen. She thought about the castle walls when she woke up, and thought about oubliettes as she got dressed, she though about the murky orange of the sky as she brushed her teeth, about that dizzying peach dream as she walked to class, and as she sat down and opened her notebook to scrawl half listened to lecture notes, she thought about him. The ideas started off innocently, because in all honesty, who hasn't sat in the middle of class and wished to be somewhere else? Her mind ran away with her. 

What if, she wondered. What if it could happen all over again? Of course, it could't really happen the same way again. She wasn't the same person she was back then, and though the thought floated briefly through her mind, she couldn't really wish her professor away to the goblins. But it didn't stop her from wishing that she could have some kind of break from the tedium of academia in the same way she had a break when she was younger. 

The idea germinated in her mind. She wanted different things now that she was older. Fifteen year old Sarah Williams wanted a dark and frightening wizard with great powers who lived in a far off world, twenty year old Sarah Williams wanted something a little less frightening and far off and a little more understanding and accessible for the world she lived in. One couldn't always run off to a labyrinth whenever one wanted, and if one looked hard enough, fantasy could be found in many corners of everyday life. Magic didn't live solely in the Labyrinth. 

Her first midterm was tomorrow. A group of friends from her precalculus class had invited her to a study party at the local pub. She had been hesitant at first about just how much actual studying would get done at a pub, but eventually relented when told of the appetizers that would be available - chicken wings, soft pretzels, nachos, sliders. The first two hours of the study party went swimmingly. In between bites of savoury foods they quizzed each other on problems and recited mathematical formulas. When the food was all finished, some of them began to talk of where to go next. Sarah felt annoyed at the thought of not spending any extra time going over the problems that were sure to be on the test despite doing just as well as all the other students during their dinner. She let them leave without her, off to find some fun in other places. She stayed behind, the solitary figure going over things she knew but but feared forgetting. 

The waitress came and went, clearing off the plates and empty cups until all the was left were textbooks and notes and flashcards. Sarah glance out the window just once. 

"I wish-" the rest of her words mumbled and ran together under her breath, finished off with a deep sigh as she pulled her eyes away from the parking lot and looked back down at quadrilateral inscribed circles. A single tear drop fell onto the diagram. Would all of her college good times consist of listening to the things her classmates did while she was stuck worrying over tests? There was a faint rumble from the parking lot; a motorcycle had pulled up.


	2. Chapter 2

Someone opened the door at the front of the pub and entered. Sarah instinctively looked over as she had done every time that night when someone entered. Her heart froze in her mouth. The stranger - or was he? - locked eyes with Sarah for a moment before cooly looking away. He swayed into pub with the air of owning the entire building. 

Sarah could hardly believe it, but she couldn't pass it off as an overactive imagination or mere coincidence. That aloof gaze, that hair that, though slicked back, still held the promise of being wild when not gelled, that bearing of royalty, and most of all, those mismatched eyes. It had to be him. 

He made his way to the corner of the room, where she just noticed for the first time that there was a small stage and a guitar set up. He entered the stage and picked up the guitar. An employee approached and whispered something to him. He nodded. The lighting in the pub changed, and he began to play a song. 

Sarah hid her face in her hands. Although there was really no way anyone else at the pub could possibly know about their history together, she felt as though everyone was watching her, waiting for her reaction. Or maybe it was just the feeling of one certain person waiting for her reaction. She peeked out from between two fingers and looked. He was staring off into space, strumming his guitar and signing something about a "starman" or similar nonsense. She let her hands drop to the table, but her face was still flushed red out of embarrassment. Life in the pub continued as normal, she was safe for now. 

The song ended and he started a new one. Sarah flirted with the thought of leaving right then - technically, she was done with her homework and even if she hadn't been, she didn't think she would possibly get anymore done now. But, though she would never say it to his face, she kind of liked the songs he playing, and if she left then she might never know for certain if it was really him. 

Her certainty had begun to waver. He played five more songs and hadn't looked at her once. She kept ordering Sprite after Sprite so the waitress wouldn't kick her out. He got to the end of his set and the spotlights on him turned off. He unplugged the speakers and began putting his guitar into its case.   
Her conviction was proved correct as he made his way through the room in a roundabout fashion only to end up in front of the booth Sarah was sitting in. He ran his hand through his hair and smirked.

"Surely such a clever young woman isn't too stressed over something as trivial as a little midterm?"

Sarah was stuck between hissing out a "what are you doing here?" and asking him how he'd been in the years since she'd seen him last. She opted instead for a dumbstruck silence. 

He motioned to the other side of the booth. 

"Do you mind?"

She gave her head a single shake. He sat down and pulled her textbook over to look at it. He flipped through the pages nonchalantly and asked "How many credits?"

"T-twelve." she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Then you have plenty of time for between studying."

"Hey. It's three hours of study for each credit, plus the time I have to spend in class-"

"But surely you... Wish, for more time, don't you Sarah?"

She was quiet, thinking.

"Don't you wish you had something - someone - to take you mind off classes? Someone to go places with you when you tire of your little college friends and their immature shenanigans?"

"Well... Yeah..."

"I thought so. After all, I heard your wish myself." 

She grew a crumpled straw wrapper at him. The waitress returned, this time with two Sprites.

They sat in silence for several minutes, each one drinking their soda an staring the other one down. 

"Why are you here, after all this time?" she blurted out at last.

He raised an eyebrow. 

"Do you wish for me to leave, miss Sarah? Because I can if you'd like." he began to stand up from the booth.

"No! No." she blushed, embarrassed at how quickly she responded. 

"Well then." he extended his hand to Sarah to help her up from the booth. "There's a whole world out there just waiting to be discovered. Shops that stay open late, and movie theatres that never close. Who knows what we might find." he smirked. 

Sarah took his hand and the two of them left the pub and ventured deep into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

As they stepped over the threshold of the pub, Sarah stepped into a whole new life. With Jareth there she forgot all about worrying over test results. True to his words, there were shops still open at that hour. But these were shops Sarah had seen before - perhaps, she told herself, she had been too focused on classes and studies to realise there was a hat shop within walking distance of her dorm. After trying on dozens silly hats and laughing while taking selfies - and mysteriously not getting busted by any shopkeepers - they ordered ice cream from the stand next door and walked together for a little while, Sarah enjoying a salted caramel cone and Jareth with a peach flavoured cup that Sarah only briefly rolled her eyes at. 

She looked at her watch, certain that it must now be in the small hours hours of the morning, and was surprised to find that only forty five minutes had passed. It was late, yes, but not too far from how late she normally stayed up. She wondered for a moment if goblin magic had been used to reorder time, but she knew better than to question a good thing. If she got to bed within a half hour, she could still manage to get eight hours sleep. 

As if reading her mind - surely he wasn't really reading her mind? she panicked for a small second - Jareth announced that it was time for her to be getting back to her dorm. 

"Don't you worry about those tests. You'll do just fine on them." he added in a matter of fact way. 

She ducked her head. "Thank you, Goblin King."

They arrived outside her door. Jareth, satisfied that she had arrived safely at her doorstep, turned to leave. Sarah paused. 

"You've changed, Jareth." 

Jareth smirked as he looked back. 

"Of course I have. So have you, dear Sarah."

Those words ran through her mind for the rest of the night. 

She woke up feeling refreshed the next morning. The tensions that had been growing in her neck and shoulders was pleasantly absent. Though she of course still had a touch of nerves as her first test started, it soon melted away as she found she had the answers to each question tucked away in her mind from color-coded flashcards and excellent note-taking. She double checked her answers and turned the paper into the professor, sighing in relief as she left the classroom. 

That afternoon she spent in the library with her friend Lillian, finding old collections of poetry to check out and read on the lawn under the shade of a tree while sipping cold lemonade in an impromptu picnic of sorts. Maybe, she thought, maybe this whole college thing didn't have to be as stressful as she thought it did. 

The next day her second test went almost as smooth as the first. There were a few questions posed in such an odd manner she that was unsure of what it was even asking. She put down some words that seemed like they should go together and hoped for the best, deciding not to let it worry her too much as she knew plenty of other less ambiguous answers on the test. 

The day after that went similarly, and the day after that, and the next one. At last, the long-dreaded week was over, and the students were free - at least until finals came around. But that was a worry for another time. Right now, it was time to celebrate. The same group of friends got together again, no textbooks or graphing calculators this time. One of them suggested they go back to the same pub, and Sarah's heart skipped a beat as she nodded vigourously. 

They settled in at the pub, ordering foods and drinks and swapping stories of what was on the tests. The atmosphere was more laid back than the first time they had come. The food tasted a little better, the jokes told were a little funnier, and there was no rush to get back by a certain time. They ended up staying later than they had on their first visit, and Sarah was so engrossed in conversation that she didn't even notice when the guitarist entered. It wasn't until he began playing that she tend in her seat to look for him. 

This is what she had been hoping would happen, that it wasn't just a one-time thing, that he would be back. She hadn't seen him since their adventure the week before. She knew she was looking forward to seeing him again, but the amount of happiness at seeing him was what surprised her. 

The conversation went on behind her. She stayed looking at him. The blue lights reflected off of his dark leather jacket and silver guitar, and she was reminded of that dizzying dream deep within the labyrinth.   
The chatter at the table, so captivating just moments before, was completely gone from her thoughts. It was as though the only things in the entire room were herself and that singer. Nothing broke her attention from him, not the crick that was slowly developing in her back from twisting sideways to see him, nor when her friend poked her repeatedly in the side to ask her what the title of movie was she had mentioned earlier. Her friend eventually shrugged and gave up. Their conversation continued without her. 

His first song ended and the patrons clapped politely. Sarah clapped along with them. He hadn't even looked in her direction yet, though she hoped he would. The waitress dropped off a bucket of fried mozzarella sticks and nachos at the table, momentarily blocking Sarah's view. She leaned to the side to keep looking. 

"He's really good, isn't he?" the waitress nodded towards him. 

Sarah looked up, just slightly embarrassed. "Yes, he is."

"Boss said he's been booked for the next three weekends, hopefully it'll add a little spice to this place."

Sarah nodded eagerly, scarcely believing her own ears. Three weeks? The next song was starting, and the waitress left. Sarah turned back to her table in a daze. She slowly started listening to the conversation again - it had changed to a completely different topic now. She dunked a mozzarella stick into the marinara absentmindedly. She stole a glance over at Jareth, only to find he was looking at her as well. Sitting on a little stool, wearing a leather jacket, eyes half closed, singing a song about a genie, and looking at her when he thought she wasn't looking at him. 

The absurdity of it all made her laugh. Unfortunately, she ended up laughing out loud, only to realise the conversation had turned to serious matters. To avoid looking as though she were laughing at Aaron's worries about tuition prices she attempted to turn her laugh into a cough and only half succeed. 

Her attention stay split for the rest of the night - half there with her friends, and half on the melodies being produced from the corner. She had the smallest worry that he would leave before she had a chance to talk to him, or that her friends would want to go back before he was finished. But her lucky starts had aligned that night for sure, for as the last notes were strummed from those strings, her friends were finishing paying the bills and repacking their message bags and backpacks. The room applauded one last time as parting bites and sips of soda were taken. Louise crammed a handful of bread into her purse when most of the group wasn't looking, prompting Sarah to sigh wearily at her friend's antics. 

"Just gimme one second." Louise tried to hang back to make a grab for the remnants of the soft pretzels as well, but Sarah shooed her away.

"Your purse is going to get gross if you keep putting food in it like that." she warned her. 

Louise relented and Sarah walked behind her to make sure she didn't make another dash for something. She glanced back an noticed Jareth had already packed up everything of his and was about to head for the door as well. She slowed down her steps just enough to lag slightly behind. Her timing worked out just right as they both exited the pub within fifteen seconds of each other. Once outside, she paused and turned to him.

"I heard you got booked here for three more weeks."

He smiled. "Yes, it seems they do enjoy these little jingles I've made up, don't they? And I've found it to be quite a fulfilling hobby, myself." 

"What are you going to do after those three weeks?" she tried to sound nonchalant about it and not at all like she would - heaven forbid - miss him or something after those weeks were up. And if she did feel that, well, he didn't have to know, did he? 

He probably already knew, damn him. 

"Actually, I've already been booked by that delightful little sushi bar just down the way, have you or your friends tried it yet?" he deftly pulled a business card out from somewhere inside of that handsome jacket and extended it to her. 

She read the card briefly before putting it in her pocket. "I haven't been there, but... Maybe I will... Sometime." she tried to shrug in a casual manner but she was unsure if she had pulled it off. If she had ended up with more of an awkward shoulder twitch instead of cool shrug, he politely did not mention it or let on. 

"Perhaps I'll be seeing you often in the future then. As for right now, you out to go catch up with your friends, they're almost halfway back to the dorms by now." he nodded in the direction of her group, who were receding into the distance. 

"I can see them any old time. I want to stay here with you." she ducked her head so he wouldn't see the blush that was beginning to creep across her face. 

He grinned. "I truly appreciate the sentiment, Sarah, I do. But do really think there would ever be a time in your life when I would fail to appear if you summoned me? You could be an old lady in a retirement home and I'd still be there for you, turning annoying nurses into goblins if you wished it."

She giggled at the metal image.

"At any time in your life I would whisk you away to the Labyrinth and reorder time there if you so desired. But this, right here, right now, is only for such a short time. Your campus friends will all be going off on their own solitary adventures after a mere few years, and when they do you'll miss the chances you had to spend with them but didn't. These university nights and colligate friendships won't last forever." he softened his voice. "You can't spend all your time with me, you know. That just wouldn't do. But I'll still be here when you get back. You don't ever have to worry about that. Now, you might want to hurry and catch up with them, I have a feeling something quite interesting to about to happen someone where in the vicinity of the old fountain, and it just might involve that tiny skateboard Frank has been carrying around in his backpack." 

"I'll see you later?" it was as much a goodbye as it was a plea.

He nodded. 

She turned and ran to catch up. She looked back just once, but he was already gone, disappeared into the crisp evening air. 

Her thoughts for the next few days occasionally strayed towards Jareth, though for the most part she focused on her studies and the happenings around the campus. It was on one of her grocery runs to the town square a few blocks away that she saw him again. 

He was walking down the street and looked distracted. He didn't even notice her until she waved at him as she crossed the street to she what he was up to. 

He looked surprised when he saw her. 

"Sarah, darling, I really can't stay long, I'm on my way to meet someone about my music."

"Oh." she was taken aback. "It's ok. I have errands to run, too." she turned to be on her way. 

"Walk with me for a moment, though. How is Frank doing?"

"He's fine, just barely. He almost busted his head open when fell off the fountain. We tried to tell him the edges weren't made for skateboarding, but he wouldn't listen. He's lucky the worst that happened was getting soaked." she chuckled. 

Jareth laughed along with her. "I would so like to keep this conversation going, dear one, but I really must be going." he motioned at door they had stopped in front of. "But I'll tell you what - are you busy tomorrow night?"

"No."

"Would you meet me at the burger restaurant just around the corner at, say, tomorrow 5 o'clock?"

"Of course!"

"That's wonderful, Sarah, I'll see you then." he gave a little wave goodbye as he entered the building. 

She went on with her shopping trip, mind consumed once more by lists of laundry soap and frozen dinners. It wasn't until Sarah was already half way done picking out her groceries that she realized she sort of kind of maybe had a date with the Goblin King. She could squealed right then and there, but refrained from doing so out of respect for the other shoppers who surely would have been disturbed by a high pitched scream. 

 

The next night she changed outfits only once, refusing to yield to the temptation of trying on every article in her closet to see what looked best. She arrived a few minutes before five, dressed casually and appearing far more calm and collected than she felt. 

Jareth was already there, sitting at a booth. She down opposite him. He had something in his hands that he was looking at. 

"What's that?" she asked. 

"This is what I had to discuss with someone yesterday." he slid a CD case towards her. "I've gotten a deal to have some of my songs recorded in a studio and made into compact disks. They even some prototype art of what the cover will look like."

She looked at the cover for a long while. 

"That's not really your name, is it?"

"Well, I can't have everyone out there knowing my real name, next thing you know they'll all be wanting something - or someone - wished away, too. Real names give a person power over you, you know. So this is my 'stage name', as it were." he looked proud of his cleverness. 

"Really? This?"

"Well what's wrong with it?"

"Nothing! Nothing, it's just... I mean, the last name is fairly unusual, but the first name is so... Common."

"Common?" he sounded aghast, as though she had just called him a peasant.

"Well, yes. I must have know dozens, if not hundreds, of people named David over the years."

"Has it occurred to you perhaps I wanted a name people could feel familiar with? And you're certainly the judge of common names, aren't you, Sarah?"

She laughed as handed the cd back to him. 

"I didn't say it was bad. It's pretty nice, actually. I like it."

"Hmm. Well. What's your favorite song of mine so far, then?"

She thought for a moment. 

"I don't think I can pick a favourite. They're all good." 

"Oh, come now. Surely there's one that stands out to you." 

"Hmm, well, the other day as I walking to class, I did find myself humming that one about modern love. It's catchy. It's so upbeat, but it's a little sad, too."

"I'll make a note for that one to be included on the disk, then."

The waiter came and took their order. They talked about his music for a little while longer, and then the topics turned to classes and then to subjects that Sarah found interesting and was surprised to find that Jareth knew quite a bit about. They spoke about color theory and Gaelic grammar and chemistry. At one point the conversation almost turned to the Labyrinth, but Jareth steered it back into a discussion of William Butler Yeats instead. 

Although the subject was only touched on, it made Sarah's chest ache with a strange sense of homesickness. But that was silly, wasn't it? She could have understood missing the home she had spent her early childhood in - and she did - or even missing the house where she lived with her father and stepmother, but she only missed those in a vague way, a kind of detached image that she held fondly but did not long to return to. Her mind and heart instead turned towards the Labyrinth and all the strangeness found there and kindled a lonely fire for it. How much more beautiful and mysterious it would be if she were not rushing to beat a clock and fighting goblin hordes. To be able to explore the goblin market and the castle grounds and feed the chickens and daydream under peach trees. 

She had to forcibly push the thoughts from her mind. That was not her path. Not now, at least. Right now, she had to focus on her education, focus on finding a job out there in the real world - a prospect perhaps more terrifying than running from the slashing machine in a tunnel. But she pushed her fears aside, too. If she could complete the Labyrinth in time, she could make it the real world, she told herself often. She had more than enough strength to walk the path ahead of her. strength So she focused on what she had to. She continued to study for classes, going out with her friends every weekend to various restaurants, coffee shops, and eateries - all of which seemed to have booked a certain live musician - for both celebrations and study parties. Sometimes she only got speak a few words with Jareth after his shows and that was all she would see of him for a week, but occasionally they would meet for lunch or for a walk in the park or look through the library together. And things went on like that right up through the end of the semester. 

It was mid way through finals week that Lillian first brought up the road trip. She had it all planned out, right down to a map with with certain roads highlighted and her uncle's promise of letting her borrow the old VW bus he owned. Sarah agreed that it sounded like a great idea, but it wasn't brought up again until two days before the end of the semester when Lilian officially invited both Sarah and Louise to join her. Without a second a though at the time, she excitedly agreed and began to pack her bags that very night. 

It wasn't until she had stuffed her toothbrush and earrings into a duffle bag that she realized if she had skipped out on the road trip, she might have been able to stay here for the break and spend that time with Jareth. This thought gave her pause for a moment, but she recalled his words to her from all those weeks ago. She wouldn't always have a chance to drive to the beach in an old VW bus with her friends, so she should do it while she could. Her resolved strengthened, she finished packing her clothes into the bag and zipped it up. As she set the bag by the front door, there was a tap at the window. She pulled back the curtain to reveal a barn owl sitting on the window ledge. It stared up at her and blinked. She opened the window and the owl stepped inside to windowsill and sat down. 

"Out catching mice, Jareth?"

The owl made a grumpy noise and Sarah giggled. 

"I'm going on a road trip on Monday. We probably won't be back until the next semester starts." she almost added 'is that ok', but bit it back. She ruled her life, not him. 

The owl nodded and looked over at the duffle bag for a moment before turning back to face the outside. 

"I'll see you when I get back."

The owl hooted as it flew away. 

She left the window open for a bit, sitting down by it and closing here eyes, breathing deeply of the night air. When she opened her eyes again she was surprised to see a bubble the size of an orange float by. As it passed she could have sworn she heard a familiar voice wishing her a good trip. When the bubble had floated away and she couldn't keep it in sight any longer, she shut the window and prepared for bed. She had one more test in the morning and then a long week ahead of her. 

Five days later she was standing barefoot in the sand as the waves washed up around her ankles, Louise and Lillian on either side of her. They collected old shells and had a bonfire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and looked up at the stars and told each other stories and drank root beer and made friendship bracelets. By the time they arrived back at their dorms, Sarah had over a thousand pictures on her camera's memory card which she spent some time going through and making cute digital collages to post on social media. Even if they ended up losing touch with each other after graduation, they would always have their time at the beach to remember fondly, and Sarah knew she would treasure the fun times they had had together. She had one of the collages printed out and pinned it to the wall near her bed.


	4. Chapter 4

The new semester started off in a flurry of new notebooks and highlighter ink. Her classes were challenging but enjoyable for the most part. Her schedule this time around allowed for having all of Wednesday off, and she was looking forward to it. She wanted to treat herself to a day off of campus. A new bookstore had opened in town, and she couldn't wait to visit it. 

As soon as she stepped into it she knew it was going to become her favourite place to be. The front of the store had several shelves of new books with glossy covers and bright colors, but the back of the store had a vast section of used books - musty pages with falling-apart covers and leather binding on every topic imaginable. The shelves went up to the ceiling and each one was packed full. She went up and down each row slowly, savouring all the possibilities of gained knowledge and adventures lived second-hand. She wasn't looking where she was going and almost bumped into one of the employees who was stocking books onto shelves wherever they would fit.

"Oh, excuse-" she stopped.

The employee gave her a knowing grin. 

"Singing doesn't pay all the bills, you know." he shoved a copy of 'The Canterbury Tales' sideways on top of 'The Tempest'.

"I didn't know Goblin Kings had bills to pay."

"They do when they rent an apartment to get away from the constant nagging of their subjects." 

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You need good credit to get an apartment."

He didn't respond, focusing on the books instead as though he didn't hear her.

"You have a credit card?" she was incredulous.

"Perhaps I do, Miss Sarah. I have a life outside my kingdom." he smirked.

She shook her head.

"I can't believe it. Show it to me."

"What, so you can memorise the number and and use it to buy diet sodas and Netflixes? I know how college students are, constantly poor and looking for money."

She grabbed 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' and swatted his shoulder with it.

"I pay for my own 'Netflixes', thank you very much."

 

Sarah would come back to the bookstore often. Seeing him there made up for the times she didn't get to see get him sing, either due to her group of friends doing something else than just eating or because he wasn't booked for those weekends. He had told her he was spending more time writing and recording than live gigs now, and his bookstore job took up time as well. 

"Brian asked me out yesterday."

They were sitting on the floor of the back room in the bookstore, and she was helping Jareth sort books into categories. She brought the subject up cooly but her heart beat a little faster in anticipation of his response. 

"Oh? what did you tell him?"

"I said I'd think about it."

"What is there to think about? Does the poor chap not shower or something? Tell him you can't stand his stench and be done with him."

She sighed.

"No, he smells... Average, I guess. He just wouldn't have been my first pick of someone to go out with, that's all." 

"Well, you don't have to go out with him if you don't want to. But you never know, you have a unexpectedly pleasant evening, especially if he is the type to shower regularly." he threw yet another copy of 'iPods for Dummies - 2002' in the recycle bin.

"I guess." she shrugged. 

Although the conversation was going normally enough, she couldn't shrug the awkward feeling. The entire reason he had always been there to grant her wishes - the entire reason he was here now when she had called out for a familiar friend that night in the pub - was because the King of the Goblins loved her. Yet here he was, nonchalantly discussing her dating other guys. It wasn't necessarily that she wanted to be in romantic relationship with him at the moment, but the boy from highschool who had claimed to be in love her ended up spreading a nasty rumour about when he realised she didn't the feel the same about him and likely never would. Was Jareth expecting something from her at some point in the future? He had played the villain all too successfully when she was younger, and though it was only an act, she was loath to be on the bad side of a being with powers such as his. 

"Jareth?" she started meekly. "We're friends, aren't we?"

He gave her a concerned look.

"I should certainly hope so." he replied.

"And you said one time that you'd still be granting my wishes even when I'm an old lady, right?"

"As long as you make wishes, I'll be there to grant them for you. But I do have limits, mind you. Helping you acquire the perfect apartment at a discount I can handle, world domination not so much, so please do plan accordingly."

"What if I wished to meet to perfect man?"

He paused and thought about it.

"I suppose I could cast a glamour on a goblin and give him a potion for cleverness, but I have a feeling that's not what you were looking for."

She laughed.

"I mean, I do suppose I could find a man for you, but that would lead to some awfully awkward conversations between me and them, don't you think? I can't exactly chat up a man at a bar and still have him be the type for you, you know?"

When her laughter subsided she pressed on.

"But would you still grant me wishes when I'm old and married? Would you grant wishes for my husband, too?"

"Like I said, I'll always grant your wishes. I suppose it depends on what your dear hubby asks for, but I suppose I could throw the man a bone once in a while." 

"So you're not going to fight some epic duel with my currently-fictional fiancé for my hand in marriage?"

He looked up. "No. Oh, did you want me to, though?"

"Well I wasn't planning on it. I just thought you..."

He set the books down and levelled a serious gaze at her.

"Sarah, you know I... I care very much about you. That's precisely why I intend to grant your every wish, even if it's at the expense of myself. It's your happiness that I want, Sarah. If someone else makes you happy, then that makes me happy as well. Don't think you owe someone feelings you don't have just because they have feelings for you. You rule your own life and make your own decisions."

Sarah didn't know what to even say to that. She instead grabbed another box of books and began sorting them quickly into piles. 

"So I have a ten page essay due in a week." she changed the subject, feeling grateful for what he had told her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will hopefully start happening more regularly! :3

She told Brian yes. They went out that Friday for dinner. In between finishing spaghetti and waiting for the chocolate cake to arrive at the table, he asked her to go with him to a campus event. She was texting Lilian on the sly under the table at the time and she didn't fully realise what was asked until after she had said "Yeah."

After the campus event date, he insisted on walking her back to her dorm and she was disappointed that she couldn't just make a dash for it when he wasn't looking. When they got to her door he leaned in without warning and tried to plant a kiss on her mouth. She leaned way back to avoid his offending lips. 

"Whoa there, cowboy. We hardly know each other, and I'm not comfortable with that yet, ok?"

"Oh." he looked as though someone had told him the well-paying job he had just landed was now a volunteer position instead.

He didn't force the issue and left instead while Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. 

The next day she got a text from him asking her to go to the movies with him next week. She pondered her predicament and decided that dumping him (did one really need to formally 'dump' the other after only two dates? was this even a real relationship?) over text message would be harsh so she agreed to meet him at movies, resolving to let him know right after the film that while she appreciated the fact that he existed, she would much prefer if he existed somewhere she didn't have to see him or speak to him. 

They got their popcorn and sodas and sat towards the top of the theater. Sarah didn't feel much like talking due to what she know was coming at the end of the movie, and Brian seemed content to rattle on about some movie related nonsense. As the the previews started rolling, he pushed up the armrest that was between them and scooted slightly closer to her. She turned and gave him a blank stare, her face illuminated by the blue of the Walt Disney castle ad. 

"I like armrests. I like to rest my arms on them." she pushed it back down to it's rightful place separating the two of them.

He shrugged but didn't say anything. 

Halfway through the movie he slid his arm around her shoulder. She wiggled out from under it and leaned over to whisper "I don't like that kind of stuff. I just want to watch the movie."

He scoffed and she rolled her eyes. If he kept it up she was about to dump him right then and there, end of the movie or not. 

The credits were rolling. People were getting up to leave and gathering their things. Sarah followed suit, and leaned over to grab her soda from the cup holder when she felt something pinch her. More specifically, a hand pinching her where a hand had no right to be without her permission. 

Sarah Williams was speechless. 

But Sarah Williams was not about to let anyone pinch her bottom and get away with it. 

Brian was sniggering as she turned to him with the fury of a thousand suns in her eyes. 

He was no longer sniggering when she dumped her entire soda over the top of his head and flung the remaining popcorn at his face. He sputtered and stood up, shouting about how could she do that? People turned and gawked. Sarah stormed off. 

When she got back to her dorm, she blocked his number from her phone and screamed into a pillow.

~~  
~~

Jareth's manager was there, so instead of helping Jareth sort and stock books, she was browsing the selection on the shelves. Jareth stood arranging the books opposite her, carrying on a quiet conversation that the manager couldn't overhear. 

The subjects were mundane until he brought up "How is old Brian doing?"

She cringed. "I certainly wouldn't know. I dumped him."

"Fellow is probably heartbroken, then."

"Good."

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Is there something I should know?"

She considered. "He just wasn't respectful of boundaries, you know?"

"Hmm."

"He pinched my butt at the theater so I dumped my Coke on him." 

"Did he, now?" Jareth said thoughtfully, but he left it at that. 

Sarah thought no more of it until a full week later. 

Brian was wandering around campus barefoot asking people what had happened to his shoes? He insisted they were all missing out of his closet, but his professors seemed convinced that he was pulling some kind of prank and turned him away from his classes. 

Sarah was not a spiteful person, and could feel empathy even for people she did not like, but she had to admit it brought her an odd joy to see Brian walking barefoot down the sidewalks wailing "I can't find my shoes!" to anyone who was in earshot. 

The next day he had his shoes back again, but seemed to be plagued by a case of terrible itchiness. The more he scratched at his arms, the worse it seemed to become, even to a point where other students started to comment on it. At midday, his itching continued only to be excaburated by the chicken feathers that seemed to be falling from folds in clothes. Other students gave him the stink eye and sided away from him. 

"It's not me! I didn't put those there, I'm allergic to feathers, why would I do that?" but no one believed him. 

The day after that, Sarah heard through student gossip that he had opened up his notebook in class only to become confused at notes inside. His own notes were still there, but the margins were now filled with gibberish and crudely made drawings as though a child had gotten hold of it. 

Nothing terribly big seemed to happen to him after that, but he did spend a good amount of time afterwards jumpy and skittish, and he mentioned something in passing about hearing harsh giggling voices in his dorm, which his roommate backed up. 

At the end of the week Sarah visited the bookstore to share this strange tale with Jareth, who maintained a perfect facade of innocence about the whole thing, though he did maintain that he personally could not be held responsible for whatever his goblins chose to do at any given time. 

Throughout the rest of her semesters she ended up dating a few others, and though she had a generally good experience with the rest of them, she didn't find anyone she could really see a future with. Regardless, the relationships were fun while they lasted, and they almost all ended on good terms. 

She spent her summers and spring breaks either with friends on trips or at internships gaining work skills. In the breaks in between, she worked part time at bookstore with Jareth, which had very well and even expanded into the store next to it. She ended up keeping that job throughout the remaining semesters as well, cutting back hours as needed to get all her classes and homework in.

~

Graduation Day loomed in the distance like the bright red mark on the calendar. One last finals week, one last day of class, and like that, it was over.


	6. Chapter 6

She had received a job offer at one of the companies she had interned for. She quickly accepted it and found an apartment nearby and made the arrangements to move there. Her furniture was the bare minimum for a while until she had some money to save up. Louise helped her move the things she did have from her dorm to the apartment. Louise ended up being the only one to get a job in same city as Sarah - everyone else she knew had moved other states. It wasn't a perfect arrangement, though, as she was close enough to visits occasionally but too far to see very often. Still, Sarah felt lucky to know someone else in the city, and she was glad that she got along well with her coworkers from what she remembered at her internship. Working a job was certainly different than going to school, but she loved it (and the money she was making - not a fortune, but certainly more than when she a student) and soon fell into a comfortable routine. As the months went by she slowly started to decorate, with posters on the walls and kitchen utensils and mugs with witty puns on them. She took up the hobby of knitting and even attempted to make her own socks, although the results were varied. 

She walked into the office one day to find a big sheet cake on her desk. 

"happy one year anniversary" said the scrawling frosting cursive. Had it really been a whole year? 

Her coworkers and even her boss went out for drinks after work and a good time was had by all. Although no one get too drunk, they asked a sober friend to drive them back when the night was over. Sarah didn't feel like waiting for him to come around on his second trip of dropping people off and decided to call a cab instead. She bid her friends farewell and waited outside for the cab to show up. When it did, she told the driver the directions and was glad when he didn't seem to be the talkative type. The radio played softly, a pop song that Sarah had been hearing everywhere lately. The song ended, the DJ chirped out an advertisement for a new brand of potato chips, and started the next song. 

She almost didn't believe it at first. Surely she was mistaken? But no, there was no mistaking that voice, and those lyrics that were filtering through the car's sound system. 

"I'll paint you mornings of gold, I'll spin you valentine evenings"

She put her hand over her mouth as though to keep herself from crying out. The absurdity of hearing his song on the radio combined with sudden realisation that it had been just over a year since she last saw him and that she missed him felt like a hand squeezing her heart. She didn't know whether to laugh out loud or cry.

She could call him right then and there, she though. She could wish him here, and - 

And? And do, say, what? She didn't know.

She didn't need anything, not really. And though she did feel a little lonely, she had made it a rule for herself to never call or message someone when she was even slightly intoxicated. That rule was made to apply to ex boyfriends and estranged family members, but she supposed it could also - should also - apply to goblin kings as well. If she really felt having him here was a good idea, it would remain a good idea well into the morning and the next day, when she would decide with a clear head.

When the next day came, she felt conflicted. Yes, she still wanted to see him for old time's sake, but what after that? She didn't have a wish to ask of him. She didn't need some favour, or even a shoulder to lean on at the moment. Calling on him now seemed frivolous. And besides that - what if he were busy right now? He had a life outside of his music. He was a king, after all. Any number of things could be going on in his kingdom at this very moment. But she knew he would still come if she called regardless of what was happening. No matter how important the events he was dealing with, he would still come if she wanted him to. All she had to say were those simple words. So she didn't. She couldn't pull him here for no reason, and any reason she could come up with seemed like no reason at all, really. There would surely come a time in the future when she did need something or someone, and that would be when she called him back. But until then, she would continue on by herself. 

So she continued on. Days turned to weeks, into months. Sometimes she would hear his songs play in the stores and she would smile and hum along softly. Sometimes she would hear them when they came on the radio in her car, and sometimes when that happened she would she turn the volume way up and sign along loudly as tears formed in her eyes for reasons she didn't fully understand, and sometimes she would change the channel quickly and pretend that it was the start of a different song and not the one she knew it really was. 

Sometimes at night she would hear the hoot of a lone owl on the roof, but she never knew if it was him or not. Sometimes she preferred to think that it was him, checking up on her, keeping an eye on her from a distance. Sometimes she thought it was just an owl, a simple bird that hatched from an egg somewhere and nothing more. Sometimes she didn't want to know which it was. 

Sometimes she went for long while without even thinking of him, and whenever the random thought about him or the Labyrinth popped up, she would feel vaguely guilty about having forgotten. But with so much else going on in her own life, she couldn't really be expected to always think of him, could she?

Months passed. She was up for a promotion at work. She wanted it so badly, and the thought of not getting it scared her. Unfortunately, the thought of actually getting it scared her as well. Whether or not she received the promotion all depended on her giving her a presentation to a panel of the heads of the company - not just her boss, but her boss's boss and several other names that were only whispered in the offices and around the water cooler with reverential awe and respect. It would not have even been a stretch by any means to say the entire course of her future depend on how she did with that presentation. Her head felt like it was buzzing whenever she thought of it. If she felt this nervous just imagining it, how was she were going to be able to stand up there and speak in front of all those people? She tried to push it out of her mind for the time being. She had plenty of time to work on it, right?

She managed to fitfully put together a presentation that she felt good about in an abstract way, but not necessarily in an "I can't wait to present this" kind of way. When it was finished and polished she put it away and tried to think of other things for while. She still had plenty of time, or so she told herself.

Days on the calendar went by like sand in an hourglass. She could no longer push it from her mind when she needed to be practicing her presentation. Her worries grew from a slight unease to a dread that never quite left the pit of her stomach. She spent late nights watching reruns of half hour comedies, trying to get her mind off what was coming up. She picked at her food in the morning, often skipping breakfast altogether. Her throat was dry and itchy no matter how much water she drank. 

There was one week before she had to present. Her hands were shaking so badly and her mind replayed imagined images of herself messing up so badly during her presentation that not only did she not get the promotion, she got fired from her current job. She could see no other option than to email her boss letting her know she simply could not do the presentation. But what then? Would't her boss be mad? Would she get in trouble? Should she start looking for a new job? What if her boss put her on a blacklist and no one else would hire her? Her boss had gone out of her way to get this opportunity for Sarah, she couldn't just throw it back in her face now. But how could she ever get through this? 

She turned off the television at three in the morning and trudged off to bed. She pulled the covers up over her head and moan into her pillow. She would have to face her boss in the morning, and she would have to decided if she was going to go through with it or not so there would be time to tell the rest of the panel so they didn't fly out here for nothing. 

There was a muffled noise at the window. She froze. It came again, and she pulled the blankets of from her head. There was definitely something at window. Most likely, she thought, it was that branch fro the tree that had overgrown. But as she heard it again, she felt the need to get up and make sure. At the very least, it was a distraction from going to sleep, and going to sleep mean the next day would arrive soon. She got up and went to the window. 

She pulled back the curtain, and sure enough, there was a branch that was touching the glass. She squinted out at it, ugly old branch. 

"I'll get someone to cut you off in the morning, that'll show you." she whispered to it. 

There was a hint of movement in the tree. She looked up.

A barn owl blinked back at her. 

She paused for just a second before opening up the window. The owl flew in as soon as she did.

She turned from the window and saw an old friend in the midst of a cloud of glitter standing in the middle of her bedroom. 

"I hate to intrude upon you so late at night, darling, but I'm afraid I need your help with something." he stretched out his hand. "Would it be too much of a bother for you to come with me and help me sort it out?"

She suddenly realized she was in her pajamas. 

"Er, yes, just a second." she grabbed her robe off the back of a chair and quickly put it on before reaching out to take his hand.

"Where are we-" she was cut off as soon as she grabbed his hand as the world suddenly felt like it violently tipped to side and stretched out.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to right herself. When she opened them, she was just outside Jareth's Castle.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I read the news in the muddled hours between the tenth and the eleventh, and it was like the floor was pulled out from under me. Clearly Bowie has had a big impact on me considering I choose to spend my spare time writing "what-if" adventures about a character he played over three decades ago - and clearly, he had a big impact on you as well, considering you're spending your free time reading those adventures._
> 
> _David Bowie was so much more to me - and will continue to be, many years hence - then just the Goblin King, as I'm sure is the case for many of us. (Though Jareth will always have a very special place in my thoughts) Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke crooning out from the distant past and through my headphones into the near past during a harsh time in my life helped me in many ways._
> 
> _Though I'm sure we're all feeling the loss deeply, one like Bowie can never really be gone because so many people and ideas and new things have been inspired by him. Small parts of him live on in his fans, and the legend of the Starman will go on._
> 
> _I am amazed and in awe of the fact that in the midst of such suffering and pain he was able to rise above it and transmute what fate had dealt him into such a work as Blackstar._
> 
> _My hope for all of us left in the wake of this strange and wonderful man is that we too can find the strength to face our personal battles with courage and grace, that we live out our lives as the most authentic versions of ourselves and never be afraid of changes, and that we always find a way to pursue our passions and never stop creating._
> 
> _I truly hope that Lazarus found the rebirth he was longing for. I pray that we all do, eventually._
> 
> _Be strong. Be brave. Keep moving forward._
> 
> _Let's live in such a way that it makes our dear old Goblin King proud, darlings._

Sarah was surprised for many reasons. 

For one, she hadn't been expecting to be back here, although she wasn't even sure where she had been expecting to go. 

Secondly, she was surprised to see Jareth in general. She hadn't made a wish, at least, not one that she had realized she was making. 

But even still, wouldn't her wish have been something along the lines of helping her get ready for her presentation? Or maybe even getting a promotion without having to give a presentation. Or using goblin magic to make it go easier somehow, or to calm her nerves. But certainly not to be whisked away in the middle of the night in her bathrobe to the castle in the center of the Labyrinth. 

The first thing she did once she realized where she was was to look up. It was the color of peaches when they fall from the tree, swirled through out with ashen clouds, exactly how it looked on her first arrival. The sun was setting. 

Her heart beat a little faster. 

"What did you need my help with?" she secretly hoped against hope that it was something involved, something that would be an excuse to stay here a while and forget her Aboveground worries, even though she knew she would have to go up there again at some point. 

He sighed wearily. 

"Well, it's a very long story, you see. It might take a while to explain." he frowned. "And you're probably quite tired what with me dragging you out of bed at some nonsense hour with barely a chance to change. I can send for some proper clothes for you from town, it shan't take too long. Come inside, now." he ushered her into the castle. 

Before closing the front door he sent a crystal floating off towards the Goblin Market. 

"The order for your clothes should get there soon." he closed and latched the doors. "And I think it's far past your bedtime. I did consider waiting to summon you until morning, but I felt you weren't likely to hear me over the blender making your morning smoothie. Follow me. Now, we aren't in a rush for anything happening up there because time moves differently in the Underground. So I want to relax for right now, take a rest, and you wake up, I will explain everything." 

He had led her to a small, cozy room in the shape of a hexagon. There was a fireplace burning low on one wall, and a window on the wall to right. Opposite the fireplace was a bed stacked tall with soft looking blankets and pillows. There was a vanity on another wall and one wall had nothing but shelves with curious objects. 

"You'll find an amulet in the box on the vanity, you can hang it over the door if you wish to lock it. Is there anything else you need for now?"

"No, I'm good." she looked around her new room. 

"I'll see you in the morning, then." he turned to leave. "And Sarah... Thank you for coming."

He was gone before she could reply. 

She was actually more tired than she cared to admit. 

 

Her Aboveground worries slipped to the back of her mind and thoughts of sleep consumed her. She hung the amulet, which was shaped like a tiny lock, over the door and slid into the bed, which was even more comfortable than it looked. 

She slept deeply and dreamlessly, better than she had in a long time. When she awoke, pale sunlight was filtering through the leaded glass window. She stretched her arms out and yawned. A tiny knock came at the door. She got up to answer it. 

It was a small goblin wearing a bright pink dress with a large bow in her hair. She curtseyed and handed Sarah a stack of clothing before scurrying away. Sarah closed the door after she was gone and looked over the clothes.

When she was finished dressing, she stood in front of the vanity and ran her fingers through her hair as a makeshift brush. When she was pleased with her appearance, she opened her door to find another goblin there, leaning up against the wall and dozing off until he saw Sarah. 

"King wants to come this way." he started off down the hallway. 

She followed him to another room where she found Jareth. The goblin wandered off. 

"Feeling more rested?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Come walk with me in the courtyard." he led her to a door.

The courtyard seemed to be in the middle of the castle, with walls around every edge of it though it had no roof so the sky was visible. It had a water fountain in the middle of it, and around the edges were flowers and shrubs and small trees and vines growing over lattices. Strain birds were in the trees, singing songs the likes of which Sarah had never heard before. The air was sweetly scented.

"It's beautiful!" Sarah exclaimed, unable to contain herself. 

"I"m glad you think so. Unfortunately, if certain others get their way, it won't be here for long." he sighed. 

They strolled through the garden, looking at the flowers. 

"It's quite a long history, but I shall do my best to keep it brief. In short, the goblin kingdom is danger of being annexed by force by neighbouring kingdoms. Try as I might my pleas have fallen on deaf ears thus far. We've come down to two final options - either we manage to convince them at the next High Court, or we face war."

"What can I do?"

"You can help me convince the other sovereigns at the High Court. There's only myself to speak for this kingdom, I have no co-rulers or heirs - there's the goblins, of course, but the Court absolutely refuses to hear from them. They consider them too far beneath them." he frowned. "A kingdom comprised entirely of them serves no purpose, they say. They intend to ship them off to other lands as servants and workers, and I cannot let that happen to them. They have just as much right to live their lives how they choose as the Sidhe do. But a war will not bode well for us. I wish to curtail this while we still have the chance."

"I want to help." Sarah was determined. She couldn't stand the thought of the poor goblins having to leave their homes and become slaves to other beings in this realm. "But Jareth, if they won't listen to you, what makes you think they'll listen to me? I'm just a human, does my word even hold any weight any here?" 

"They view me as reckless and flighty - part of the reason why my rule is over goblins only. Currently all they have is unsavoury me and unworthy goblins to speak up for this kingdom. But you - a fresh voice, a new set of eyes - you just might have a chance to get through to them. Humans here aren't so unusual as you might believe, there a few of them who have left their mortal lives behind to dwell here on this plane. I'll even point them out to you when we see them at High Court." 

He paused.

"You will come with me to the High Court, won't you Sarah?"

"Yes." she was resolute.

 

"Excellent." he grinned. "Oh Sarah, I do so wish your first High Court had been under better circumstances, but I do feel you'll enjoy it anyway. Before we begin the heavy lifting, however, we have some other matters to attend to first."

They went to the goblin together. Jareth wanted fresh groceries for Sarah's visit, and she was eager to see more of the city than had the last time she was there. She couldn't help but giggle at the various goblins who, upon seeing Jareth, would scurry up to him and curtsy or bow. The goblins looked so serious about it, and Jareth was so nonchalant about it all that it proved a comic scene to watch. 

The market itself was composed of varying sizes of booths and stalls and wagons. While some of the food made Sarah question if it was even edible, some of it looked absolutely delicious and made her eyes glint as she remembered a certain poem from her childhood - "sweet to tongue and sound to eye". 

When they had purchased enough food they stopped by the tailor to pick up Sarah's new wardrobe - four dresses, three pairs of pants, five tunics, and a large basketful of various other articles. 

"Oh, Jareth, this is too much."

"Nonsense. It's the least we can do for you, after you so kindly dropped everything to come help us. Your outfit for High Court will take a little longer, so it will be delivered a while later."

He tossed some coins to the goblins he had enlisted to carry the clothing to the castle. 

They made small talk on the way back. Sarah tried to include the goblins who were carrying their bags and luggage in the conversation, but they seemed far too star-stuck by Jareth to respond very much - only one would answer, and only with monosyllables. 

When they arrived at the castle Sarah took her new clothes to her room and Jareth took the food into the kitchen. The goblins had left, and after hanging up the dresses and leaving the basket at the foot of her bed, she met Jareth in his library. 

She sat down in the plush chair across from his own. A small fire burned in the fireplace and the lighting from above seemed to come from source in particular. A little table was between them, on which he had set two teacups with a sweet smelling drink in them. 

"Well then." he sighed. "Let us begin."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Leap Day <3

He got up and began pulling a few books off the shelves. 

"These are a few history books - they'll help you immensely in learning what our political atmosphere is. If you have any questions at all about what you come across, please do ask me. 'No such thing as a stupid question', that's what they say Above, isn't it?"

He put the books onto the table. 

"Now, High Court is in almost two weeks. I think that's just enough time to catch up on everything and come up with a compelling argument."

The dizziness and excitement of the day was beginning to wear off on Sarah. She was starting to feel very small, and very powerless in a world filled with magical beings, and very tired. 

"Are you really sure about all this?" she asked in small voice. 

Jareth paused. 

"Sarah, you don't have to do anything you don't want, or don't feel comfortable doing. I do think you are perfectly capable of pulling this all off, but that in no way means you are required to attempt it."

She nodded. 

The following days were spent in a combination of endless reading and long discussions, both with Jareth and with several goblins who were in the business of record keeping and storytelling. There were even goblins who were old enough to actually remember many of the things written in the annuls of history. 

Sarah was almost surprised at how easily she managed to fall into line with life in the Underground. It was so different than her life that she had grown accustomed to, but she adjusted without missing a beat. Each day was like a dream and she couldn't help but smile, thinking how she had longed for something like this when she was fourteen but never saw a chance of it ever happening. 

It occurred to her on the fourth day there - a little late, she realized sheepishly - that she had no idea how time passing Aboveground. There was even a chance she might miss her presentation. For all she really knew, a dozen years had gone by and she never even returned to work. She brought up the subject with Jareth. 

"How much time will have gone by when I go back?"

"Likely very little at all. You'll be back in time for work that day, I'm sure."

"I have a presentation I'm working on." she was thinking out loud, sure that he had his ways of already knowing. A small feeling of unease crept into her mind thinking about it again. 

She brushed a piece of her hair out of her face.

"I was considering, maybe, I mean - I've been feeling kinda nervous about it. Do you think, after all this, you could help me out a bit? Not like, use magic on my boss or anything, just help me practice me speech." she hurried to add. 

Jareth considered it for a moment. 

"Of course I'll help you, Sarah. I always find however, problems are best tackled one at a time."

Sarah rolled her eyes and smirked. 

"I know, I know, 'back to work'." she picked up her book again. 

She found the history books fascinating. There were mentions of so many creatures and beings and lands she had heard about in fairy tales and storybooks, her heart ached just a little to think that she wouldn't be able to stay here and see them all. But she tried her hardest to stay on topic.

Before this, she had only had a vague idea about where the goblins had come from - wished away children, perhaps, but she never really gave it any mind. As it turned out, a number of goblins were indeed human children who had been wished away, abandoned by their keepers or lost from wandering off, taken in by this world and changed. 

This wasn't the case for every goblin, though. There were their own race, distinct from the rest of the peoples who inhabited the vast lands around the Labyrinth. They had their own unique culture and arts and tales and Sarah thought it was wonderful. It seemed, though, that not everyone had always felt that way - there were other factions who felt the goblins to be beneath them, and it seemed that this feeling was still permeated in recent times. 

She pieced together anything that wasn't in the books through conversations with Jareth. He was apparently rather rebellious in his youth and his ruling over the Goblin Kingdom had only come about through a series of events that were half punishment, half dare followed through. His parents, fretful over his flippant nature, had tried in vain to get him take his future duties seriously, right up through his own coronation. He ended up sassing many of the other sidhe at that coronation, which caused quite an outrage. He was supposed to have been coming into his own and inheriting a portion of land from his parents but several of the sidhe began to loudly question if it were wise to give so much control to one such as him. 

Accusations flew. Someone snidely mentioned he was only fit to be a king of goblins, meant as a biting insult. Jareth, however, quipped right back that he would be delighted to have an entire kingdom full of goblins. His mother had nearly fainted at his words. The arguments had grown until it was decided that instead of his parent's land, he would be inhabiting a wasteland and his only subjects would indeed be goblins. 

He left that very day for the wasteland and began planning the construction of his castle, and sent out the message that any goblin living anywhere was more than welcome to make a home in his new kingdom. 

Slowly but surely goblins began moving in and building towns and markets and homes. Jareth was their ruler, but for the most part they governed themselves whenever possible - and that was just how he liked it. He had plenty of free time for his own interests and pursuits, yet still held a title among the sidhe. 

After a while, the others sidhe began to realize he was indeed serious about this 'goblin kingdom' and it was not just a passing fit. They began sending requests to meet with him and discuss any trade opportunities or treaties between their kingdoms. Around the time of having received these letters, Jareth began construction on the Labyrinth, something he seemed to sincerely apologize for when the foreign rulers finally arrived at his doorstep weeks later and worn out. The timing of the giant maze around his house, though, was no accident. After the first batch of visitors began telling of just what it took to meet with Jareth, requests to visit virtually stopped, and instead any discussions with him had to take place at any gatherings such as Midsummer or High Court. 

Things carried on like that for quite some time. Jareth was happy with arrangement, as were the goblins and other odd creatures that happened to move in with them, and up until recently, the sidhe were happy. The whispers had started off quietly, but now they had grown louder and there was no denying them. There was a growing faction of sidhe who felt that the goblin kingdom was a waste of space and resources, that Jareth was merely playing at running a kingdom and playtime was over. 

Though Jareth had fought against these allegations, his reputation was well known by most, and the tides were turning against him. Time was running out for goblins, who were now in danger of being forced to leave their homes and enter lives of servitude. 

A flippant and careless ruler, of course he would fight to keep the cushy position he had found himself in! The others long viewed him as the same being he was way back when, and certainly his reluctance to often meet with anyone gave little opportunity for anyone to see how he might have changed. This was why Jareth had hoped that perhaps the view of an outsider would hold more sway than the views of himself or of a goblin. Though he did have several close friends in the Underground, they all unfortunately had worse reputations than himself - certainly not anyone that he would want to remind others that he kept company with. So the full weight of the task fell onto Sarah. 

As the proverbial sand the proverbial hourglass slipped away, experiences in the Underground become more vivid, more intense. 

Her speech was composed as much as it could possibly be, and together they had planned responses to a great number questions or statements that could arise. In between and during last minute practice speeches they dined outdoors or strolled through the labyrinth or stayed up late at night to drink fizzy drinks from fluted glasses and watch the fireworks that went up over the goblin towns in celebration of an approaching goblin holiday. 

High Court was one night away. 

Sarah sank back into the bathtub. All the arrangements had been made, the only thing left was to get ready for bed, sleep, wake, then dress and leave for the High Court. She let any and all worries about how the next day would go slip from her mind, instead focusing on the here and now - and how she might not ever be here like this again. 

She had never been in a tub this deep. The water came up to her shoulders and the sides were sloped in such a way that she could lean back comfortably. The water was warm, and a large piece of soap had placed into it which fizzed and bubbled away, leaving the water the sparkling color of a sunset and smelling of peaches and sugar and cream. 

The bath also seemed to stay at the same temperature no matter how long Sarah spent in it. She normally made a habit of exiting baths when the water started to cool, but that night she stayed in long past when her fingers and toes had turned pruney. She pulled a fluffy towel off the side of the tub and wrapped it around herself, stepping out onto the furry rug which saved her feet from the cold stone floor. After pulling the chain to drain the tub, she blew out the candles one by one and returned to her bedroom where she dressed for sleep. 

If Jareth had confidence in her, she could have confidence in herself. After all, he surely knew what High Court would be like - he wouldn't have asked for her help if he didn't think she could do it. Because of that she was able to rest easily under the soft layers of blankets which she pulled up to her chin. The textiles here were so different than what she used to Aboveground. She sighed happily and tried to stay awake just a little longer to enjoy the room a bit more, but soon she was already drifting off to slumber. 

She was awoken the following morning by a small eager knock at the door. 

She stretched and yawned and then called out "I'm up!"

Footsteps could be heard scurrying away from the door as the goblin, whose duty as an alarm clock was finished, ran off to its next task, whatever that might be. 

Sarah quickly dressed in her outfit for the day. 

It was a special order - light green and gold, the colors faded and mixed into one another like the reflections of sunlight through stained glass. It was not as poofy as the dress she had worn when she younger, but it still felt just as glamorous and refined. 

She frowned into the mirror. She had told Jareth that he could do her hair makeup before they left, but she still had reservations about it. She had no actual makeup with her, though, and such a thing was a foreign concept to the goblins so it couldn't even be found at market. She had to admit, it would save time for him to do it. 

She met him near the castle's front entrance. He smiled when he saw her. 

"Are you ready, Sarah?"

She nodded. 

"Come just a little closer." he held out both hands about face height. 

She nervously stepped closer and he gently placed his hands on either side of her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, not knowing what to expect. 

Her face and scalp tickled for the briefest second, like the premonition of a sneeze. He pulled his hands away. 

"There."

She opened her eyes. He pulled a small mirror seemingly from nowhere and held it up for her to look into. 

It was a little more glitter than she would have normally used, but on the whole she liked it. Part of her hair was now pulled up and secured with a large clip, slightly curled and twisted all over. It would have taken her at least two hours to do on her own. 

"Thank you, Goblin King." she curtsied. 

He bowed, then held out a hand to her. 

"Are you ready to go to the High Court, Miss Sarah?"

"Of course, Your Majesty." she couldn't help but smirk at their formality, an expression mirrored by Jareth himself. 

She took his hand and they stepped outside to where a carriage was waiting. She stepped up into it, followed by Jareth. The carriage door was closed, the goblin driver shook the reins, and the horses lurched forward. 

They were off.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I certainly did not intend to leave this fic hanging for so long, but alas, life happens. Here is an extra long chapter to make up for it, and the promise of many more chapters to come. <3

Jareth pulled back the little curtains covering the small windows on each side of the carriage. Two light blue plush benches faced each other, Sarah on one and Jareth on the other. From underneath his own bench he pulled out a large picnic basket. 

"I regret to inform you that you will not be able to eat of any the food offered you at High Court, not even a sip of mead. If you wish to be able to return to your life Aboveground, it's of the utmost importance to remember that. A single taste of food from a sidhe table and you'll find no passage back to your old human life. There is no such spell on goblin food, however, so anything from this basket will be fine if you're hungry." 

Sarah peeked inside the basket and pulled out a napkin, spreading it out over the front of her dress. She took a bite of a crumbly pastry and giggled as Jareth bit his lip trying to pour a bottle of a sweet smelling liquid into two crystal goblets without spilling any of it due to the bumpy ride. 

His task mostly accomplished, he handed her one of goblets. 

"Why is this carriage so bumpy? Surely the King could afford a smoother ride." she teased. 

Jareth sniffed. 

"I'll have you know this carriage is several hundred years old. The shocks absorbers are shot. It's not about affording a new one, it's about keeping up a grand tradition."

"A grand tradition that now has juice stains on the carpet." she sighed. 

He glared at her as he leaned back on the bench, but she could see the beginnings of a grin on his face. 

They passed the time with small talk and traded jokes and at one point Jareth reached into his pocket and pulled out a foldable fan and gave it to Sarah. It matched her dress and she thought it was lovely. He told her to keep it with her throughout the day. 

The journey seemed to take a long time, yet when Sarah looked out the window the scenery was flying past. She thought of the airplane trips she had taken in the past, and how the carriage was almost like a small jet that had just touched down on solid ground, full of velocity that jostled its passengers and cargo, rushing ahead into the unknown. She wondered if Jareth had ever been on an airplane, and if he had, where he had been headed and for what reasons. 

Soon enough the carriage slowed its pace and came to a stop. The driver opened the door for them, and they stepped out in front of what looked to be large trees woven into a hallway. The carriage took off once again, and Jareth and Sarah started into the grove of trees. 

Sarah could scarcely tell where the natural connected with the constructed. After a few tunnels they entered into a much smaller hallway, at the end of which was a small red door. Jareth paused just before it and reached out his hand to Sarah. She put her hand in his and he gave it a gentle squeeze before opening the door. 

On the other side was a landing that lead into a wide, yet short, staircase. On the lower level was a large round room filled with groups of people, some standing and talking, some sitting at the long tables that stretched across the walls.

At the top of the staircase was a man to whom Jareth handed a tiny piece of paper. The man glanced briefly at it before slipping it into his pocket and calling out in a voice that made Sarah jump at both the volume and unexpectedness. 

"King Jareth and Marchioness Sarah of the Goblin Kingdom."

Upon being announced, several of the groups who were standing within earshot all stopped talking and turned to watch. 

Sarah wanted to take a moment to ask Jareth about how she suddenly had a title she wasn't aware of, but her concentration now had to focus on not tripping down the stairs as several dozen people stared intently with blank expressions. A wave of nerves washed over her, and suddenly the only thing she wanted was to run and hide. She glanced back at the red door, the only way out, and in doing so noticed that Jareth had his gaze on her. 

"Are you alright?" he murmured. 

She gave a small nod and squirmed her hand in his. He subtly gestured towards her fan that she was holding in her other hand. She opened it up and brought it up to cover the bottom half of her face as they reached the bottom of the staircase. He leaned over and whispered to her, both of their mouths masked by the fan, his words hidden from prying eyes. 

"Those looks are for me, don't worry. You're fine here."

She wasn't sure if the thought that the icy stares were meant for him made her feel any better, but she did appreciate that he was trying to put her at ease. 

As soon as they stepped down to solid ground, they were caught up in introductions and polite greetings. Sarah tried her best to remember each name and where they were from, but after a certain point it was far too overwhelming to try to memorize each detail, and they all started to blend together. She couldn't imagine how Jareth managed to keep everyone straight, especially considering he likely hadn't seen most of these people in at least a year. But he somehow managed, and to a degree so did Sarah - and when she didn't she faked it and was able to get by. 

In the middle of small talk with another guest, a man approach Jareth and asked him to come to the table. Sarah felt a cold sweat coming on. She recalled Jareth had told her that business was conducted in small groups of neighboring kingdoms, sitting at the table and discussing pressing matters before the groups that joined them got bigger and bigger. If Sarah wanted to convince anyone of keeping the goblins free, her best bet was to get the neighboring kingdoms in agreement before bringing it before the higher-ups. 

They followed him to his table, where more introductions were made. Sarah politely refused the sparkling drink she was offered, while Jareth shot his back all at once. 

"Surprised to see you here, must say." the man said to Jareth. "There was a betting pool about whether or not you'd show up. I'm glad you did, I won a fair bit of money." he laughed. 

"Hm, well. Glad I could be of assistance. The rumors are true, I take it?" Jareth leaned in close. 

The table consisted of five men and two women who were elaborately dressed and seemingly from a kingdom not too far from Jareth's. 

"Aye, they're true all right. This has been building for some time. You have your work cut out for you tonight." the man poured more drink into the glasses from a pitcher. 

The women sitting to one side of Sarah were gazing at her over the tops of their fans, gently rustling them and smiling at her. The young man on the other side of her had noticed she had refused her drink and took to offering her different foods and beverages from the table. She turned down each one as kindly as she could. 

"Perchance I get you a delicacy from another table - something we have not here to strike your fancy?" he tried. 

"No, thank you, sir. I really can't have anything here, I'm afraid."

The women giggled behind their fans. 

"She must be mortal, William. You shouldn't tease her so. Our foods here are forbidden to her." they fluttered their fans all the more. 

William leaned back in his chair. 

"Aahhh..." he said, and Sarah felt strangely awkward. 

He tipped his chair back onto the back legs, verging on tipping over.

"T'would surely be a pity, then, if you were to... Accidentally taste something here, would it not?"

Sarah folder her hands in her lap and thought for a moment. She didn't like the gleam in his eye, and she knew the eyes all around were watching her, judging her, waiting to see how she could handle herself in this strange new world. 

"It would, sir. It would also be a pity if your chair suddenly gave out from under you in front of everyone, sir... Would it not?" she glanced up at him earnestly, a well-placed foot on the leg of his chair. 

He wobbled and righted himself, frowning. 

"Let us do all we can to avoid any accidents tonight." Sarah said sweetly. 

The women pulled her close, tilting their fans so as to include her in their conversations. Deemed one of them after her handling of William, she was included in their low chatter of who was wearing what and talk of the weather lately. 

After a short time Jareth stood up, beckoning for Sarah to follow. They took their leave of the table. Jareth told her the information he had gotten in regards to who exactly they'd need to win over and away from the plans of taking his kingdom from him. There was apparently a very small number of people who agreed that the goblins should remain free as they were now, but these people had been fairly silent on the matter and no one was really certain who they were. Sarah told him about William and simple gossip she had heard. 

Jareth smirked. 

"You should have tipped that pompous fool onto his backside. All the lands would have talked of it for ages." 

Sarah smiled at the idea, then reminded him that they were here to make the impression of being responsible and mature, and he sighed at this. 

They went to several different tables in this fashion - small talk, gossip, and every so often talk about actual issues facing each kingdom. Generally these problems were in no way related to the Goblin Kingdom, but by giving advice he hoped to project the image of a helpful and wise king - and hope for the best. Sarah too added whatever she thought would help, and she was glad to find that most of the people she encountered were nicer than the first table. 

As they approached yet another table, Jareth paused and pulled her close to whisper to her. 

"These are some of the major supporters of the plots against us."

She nodded. Time to work some magic... Figuratively, of course. 

They were introduced and she curtsied and smiled charmingly. She let Jareth speak to them first, hoping to scope out the waters of what they were like before she said anything. They seemed formal enough, but their underlying contempt still shone through. Jareth merely smiled and took the veiled insults in stride, though Sarah could tell he was trying his best not respond with scathing snark. 

One of the women motioned for Sarah to come closer. 

"What a lovely ring you have, my dear." 

"Oh, this?" Sarah held out her hand, which was adorned with a finely crafted ring, to the woman. She could tell there was sincerity behind the compliment. 

"Wherever did you get it?"

"A dear friend of mine made it for me. She's the sweetest woman." her heart was pounding in her head. "She's such a skilled craftsperson, you should see some the things she can make!"

"Does she make custom pieces, perchance?" her eyes sparkled as fluttered her fan. 

"She does! She's by far the easiest person to work with in designing pieces - no fuss at all. You'll go in looking for some jewelry and end up leaving with a new friend."

"What is her name? I simply must meet this woman."

Sarah smiled and gathered her nerve. 

"Her name is Sazie."

The woman looked baffled.

"But - but that sounds very... Unusual, for a sidhe name." she tutted to herself. 

"Oh, she's not sidhe. She's a goblin."

The woman was beside herself. 

"Oh! Well, I- I didn't think- she made this, you say? A goblin woman? I never would have thought- and you're friends with this goblin?"

"Good friends, yes. She always has a cheerful song to share."

The woman turned away, thinking, and forgot Sarah was even there. 

The sidhe Jareth was talking to suddenly called a few others over to the table. Apparently unable to fluster Jareth, backup was needed. One little slip up, that was all they would need to prove their point that he was unfit. 

They continued to discuss kingdom matters in low voices across the table, and Sarah, unable to fully hear what they were saying, began to tell the women next to her tales that Sazie had told her. The woman listened, transfixed, her mind whirling with new ideas she had never considered. 

They were interrupted suddenly by the sound of someone clanging a fork against a glass. They looked up. It was time to bring their conversations to a bigger table. 

Sarah sat next to Jareth at the larger table. She felt so oddly out of place, the same gnawing feeling in her stomach and head when she thought about what it would be like to move into the bigger office with the promotion. She stayed mostly quiet throughout much of the talk at the larger table, following Jareth's lead when it came to voting by show of hands on matters. 

The topic shifted rudely to the plan Sarah had worked so hard to be able to counter. 

"I notice we have someone here today that's quite a surprise. We all didn't think you'd show up, Jareth. As a matter of fact, the next topic I want to bring up is the acquisition of the, er, so-called 'goblin kingdom', and putting it to good use. It's just sitting there rotting under such poor leadership."

"We all know how he can be." chimed in another. 

"How so?" Jareth asked politely. 

They all tried to avoid his eyes as the fiddled with their hands and looked away. 

"Well I'm not saying it's not possible that you've changed, but be honest, Jareth - you are not the most responsible person here. If we were to put it to vote, I truly don't think there would be a single one here who would vouch for yo-"

"I vouch for him." Sarah spoke out. 

All eyes turned towards her.


	10. Chapter 10

"Do you?"

"I do. I've known Jareth for quite a long time, and I've spent a good deal of time in the Goblin Kingdom. He's an efficient ruler, his people are happy and orderly. In all the time I can remember, there's never been any kind of a problem at all." 

The others glanced about to each other, their expressions ranging from glum to surprised. 

"Well, leadership or not, the fact remains that vast majority of inhabitants are simply goblins. We wouldn't have a kingdom of rats, so why would we need a kingdom full of goblins?" he looked around the table for support. 

Sarah stood up. 

"The goblins are not rats. They're people, just like the sidhe, and they deserve to be treated with the same respect."

Whispers went across the tables like a shifting breeze. 

She could see wavering in the eyes of those she'd talked to earlier. 

He scoffed. 

"I'm sure you feel very deeply for them in the way one feels for the horse that draws a carriage or a fish in a bowl, but that does not automatically put them on the same level as ourselves. Our best course of action here is t-"

"But there's a precedence for this kind of thing." Sarah interrupted. "The Dwarven Treaty in the Age of Eowyn - the dwarves were allowed to keep their own lands and govern themselves on the basis of being equals with the sidhe, and the goblins meet all the same criteria the dwarves did."

He looked concerned for the first time, but tried to wave it off. 

"Yes, but surel-"

"What makes the goblins less than the dwarves? They have their own culture, their own music and stories, their own history and crafts and designs - they have everything that the dwarves had that made them be viewed as equals at the time."

She summoned all her courage for one final jab, praying it would work and not have her forcibly removed... Or worse. 

"And with all the respect that is due, sir, if the goblins meet all the requirements of being their own free people and you take that away from them, what is to keep you from revoking those same rights from other free peoples down the road?" 

His face turned pale. 

All eyes were on him now. The handful of formerly ardent supporters of his ideas were now staring at the floor, sinking down into their seats and hoping no one would remember that they had been supporting the idea that now seemed so heinous. 

Jareth kept his face schooled into a mask of impassivity, but inside he was a whirlwind of emotion. If this didn't work, it was the end. And this would have never worked coming from himself. With these words coming from Sarah, it just might stand a chance. She had nothing to lose by losing the goblin kingdom, so she had nothing to gain by any lies. 

"I certainly assure you- I mean, I would neve- it's not like that you see-"

"How would our allies in other lands view this, if word got out though?" a woman to the side asked. 

Quiet chatter rolled through the crowd like a wave. 

"It wouldn't be trust-inspiring." some said. 

"This move could reflect badly on us all." added another. 

Not entirely convinced, Sarah's adversary tried one last time. 

"This girl surely has no idea what she's speaking of. I trust my own judgment on this matter and request your trust as well. By show of hands, now - who's with me on this?"

Awkward silence. Glances away. A gentle cough. The clearing of a throat. 

"By show of hands," Sarah's voice rang out. "Who here believes in the sovereignty of the Goblin Kingdom?"

She raised her hand up high. Jareth raised his as well. 

For a moment, it seemed nothing else in the entire hall moved. It seemed nothing else would move. And then a wonderful thing happened. 

Another hand was raised. Timidly at first, and then another. And another, and another, and-

Although not everyone put their hand up, there was still a large number who did. While some perhaps felt uncomfortable in voicing the opinion in agreement with Sarah, certainly none of them felt the right to rip the goblin kingdom to pieces. 

And just like that, it was over. They had won. The goblins - and their kingdom - were safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER/SECTION HAS BEEN SO DIFFICULT TO WRITE UGH 
> 
> I do hope to be able to get more up a little quicker now after this one! :')


	11. Chapter 11

Much of the rest of the evening was a blur for Sarah, filled with twinkling lights and the sound of blood rushing in her ears. 

She couldn't believe it. 

She had done it. 

Later into the evening there was dancing. Jareth held his hand out to her and they twirled around the ballroom. She hadn't danced like this since she was 15, but she enjoyed it far more now that she was older and, for the moment, had no worries. She gripped his shoulder tightly as they waltzed, giggling at her old memories and thinking how fine it was to be there. He lead her across the floor in simple but elegant steps with a warm gloved hand on her lower back. 

"What is so funny, pet?" he chuckled, infected by Sarah's wide grin. 

"Being here right now - like this... With you," she blushed ever so slightly. "This is like, my teenage dream come true. I would not have been able to believe my awesome luck if you had told me all this when I was younger."

The orchestra band finished the tarantella they had been playing and switched gears to a softer, slower song. He pulled her a little bit closer, and she rested her face on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and willed this feeling to always stay etched in her mind. 

The band switched songs once again, a faster one this time. They broke away from the rest of the dancers and sat down at the tables again. 

As he had promised, Jareth pointed out a small handful of women and men who used to be human but made the choice to stay Underground. Sarah looked them up and down, wondering at them. They looked so... Sparkly. So happy. So beautiful. Had they not been pointed out, she never would have guessed they were any different from the rest of the magical folk around them. Even with all she had accomplished that night, she felt a little intimidated by them. But also a little hopeful. This could be her own choice one day. She could be as they were too. 

The chatter went on and on, constant talking of news and happenings from all over. Any unfinished business was in the process of being wrapped up. The sidhe High Court was almost at an end. 

In the dizziness of the night, Sarah almost forgot herself and reached for a flute of mead. She quickly put it back down again. There was just something enticing about the food and drink there, a pulling feeling of needing to taste, to put it into your mouth, to consume. She stared, transfixed, at a pomegranate so red and juicy, like tiny shining jewels in a fleshy rind. She let her mind wander about what it would taste like, if it would be different from the ones Aboveground (how could it not, looking like that?) and whether just one single seed would truly damn her to exile from her native lands. She put her fingers out to just touch it softly, but pulled them back at the last second. Touching would most definitely lead to more, like an insect bite that, once scratched, only began to itch all the more. She turned her focus onto the conversation to distract herself. 

A number of sidhe were leaving. An even larger number were staying, and, with talk of politics behind them, they were immensely enjoying their meads and wines. Sarah never thought she would see so graceful a drunk person, but there were plenty among them. 

Jareth's coconspirators from the start of the evening came over to congratulate them and bid then farewell. There were handshakes all around and deep bows and subtle jokes that Sarah wasn't entirely privy to but that she smiled politely at anyway. 

They waited outside in the cool night air for their carriage to arrive from where it was parked. Sarah took one last look back at illuminated hall and ruminated on all that had happened there. She almost wished they would stay longer to see what the sidhe got up to at night, but it had been a very overwhelming day and she was also looking forward to falling into bed. Jareth seemed antsy to leave, his only reason for coming settled. 

She threw a parting glance back at the big doors as she stepped into the carriage. Laughter and music floated back to her ears. Oh well. Perhaps, at some unknown, unforeseeable date in the distant future, there would be more sidhe courts for her. Surely Jareth wouldn't refuse her - she was certain, even now, that if she asked he would have stayed all night for her sake. 

But it was time to go. They had accomplished what they set out to do. 

The curtains were left open on the ride back. The landscapes all looked so different under the blanket of darkness. Certain plants gave off faint glows, and every so often Sarah noticed sets of shining eyes. 

Jareth leaned his head backwards, hands over his eyes, and groaned. 

"Now I realize I've been correct in my long avoidance of all that rot. Good riddance to them all." 

"Even to your old friends?" 

"Especially to my old friends." 

He paused. 

"You were wonderful tonight, Sarah. This would not have turned out so well in our favor had you not been here. You've no idea how grateful I am."

Sarah ducked her head. 

"I'd like to think of something to be able to give you as reward, but everything I have has already been yours, so I struggle to find something fitting."

"I didn't do it for rewards. I did it for them - for the goblins." 

He tapped his finger together. 

"Hmm. Well, I'll still have to think of something. You know I'd do anything for you, so consider it doubly so now."

"Are the goblins waiting to be told the outcome of tonight?"

He shook his head. 

"Most of them don't even know about all this."

"You never told them?"

"I didn't want to worry them if there was nothing I could do. As you've said yourself, they aren't stupid, so of course a few knew something was up - a rumor fledged by gossip, and sadly they have no clue how close to the truth it hit. I wanted them to be able to enjoy their potential last days of freedom and not be bogged down by the thought of what's to come. But I'll make an announcement tomorrow to all of them and let them know the whole story. Will you stay for that?"

"Of course."

When they arrived at the castle there was not much left to do but go to bed. Jareth wished her a good night, and parted for their separate rooms. Once her door was locked she could barely keep her eyes open long enough to change out of her party dress and into her nightgown. In fact, here eyes were closed for part of it. She sighed as she thought about how lovely it would be to have magic to change clothing quickly, with the snap of her fingers or a mere thought. What it would feel like to be a sidhe was the last thought in her mind as her head hit the pillow and she descended into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This arc is almost over ~<3 I have 3 more chapters already finished I can't believe it ^^; 
> 
> Get ready for some a n g s t in the next arc >:)


	12. Chapter 12

It was late afternoon when she awoke and found that Jareth had sent word throughout the kingdom that a special announcement was to be made that very night just before sunset. The small goblin attendant told her about it, and offered to bring Sarah her breakfast in bed, to which she readily agreed. 

Sarah was surprised by the large breakfast platter brought to her room. It took four medium sized goblins to carry it, one at each corner. It held several egg dishes, an assortment of pastries, yogurts, and other small dishes. 

"Is this all for me?" she squeaked. 

The goblins nodded and bowed as they left. 

She spent the next hour or more picking over each dish, sampling every flavor. By the time she finished eating and dressing it was nearly time for the announcement. She found a note stuck to the outside of her door at eye level - it must have been left Jareth as no goblin was this tall. It contained instructions of when to meet him on the balcony for the announcement. She had a little extra time beforehand which she spent in the garden, smelling the flowers one last time. 

When she meet Jareth on the balcony he was dressed in white. He smiled back at her as she approached. Standing at the edge, she could look down at the sea of goblin faces below. Some held up the enchanted shells she recognized from the market - shells that picked up the sounds from around them and magicked those sounds back to another shell to be listened to, much like a radio... If a radio were made of sea shells and magic, of course. There must be even more goblins who weren't able to come, she thought. At least they'll be able to hear it. 

As the top of the hour approached, nervous chatter among them increased. When it was finally time, Jareth held his hands up and the crowd went silent. 

"As you may know, I was absent from my castle the previous day." 

Slack-jawed stares from the masses. The King wasn't there yesterday? A small handful of attendant goblins nodded, feeling pleased to be privy to this tidbit of info. 

"I was, in fact, at the Sidhe High Court."

A collective gasp washed over the crowd. A single goblin fell to his knees, clutched his chest and screamed "Why, King?!"

Evidently their King's distaste for the high court was well known. 

Jareth nodded sympathetic all and pointed at the screaming goblin. 

"Yes, yes, exactly my thoughts. Anyway, at the High Court a certain rumor was confirmed."

Tension in the crowd. 

"There was a plot formed against us, my friends. A plot that would have torn the very fabric of our lives asunder. A plot to divide the kingdom and sell yourselves as slaves to the other races."

His words rang in the courtyard and took a moment to sink in. Concern grew, and several broke down in tears. They become antsy and edgy, uncertain of what their future would be. 

Jareth held his hands out once more. 

"But this plan did not come to pass, nor will it ever. And the person you should all thank for this defeating this heinous plot is our very own Sarah Williams."

Her breath hitched in her throat. She hasn't been expecting this. 

"Through her diligent and devoted study, her eloquent and timely speech, she has singlehandedly changed the hearts and minds of the sidhe who had hoped to overthrow us. You are safe now, and it is only because of Miss Williams. Our Labyrinth's Champion has once more become a Champion for the Labyrinth and all who live there."

Sarah was blushing. 

"Surely a woman who has done so much to change our fates so drastically will live forever in our minds and in our legends and in our hearts." 

He paused. 

"And to make absolutely sure of this, I hereby declare this entire week a kingdom-wide annual holiday in honor of Miss Williams. Let it be written, let it be done."

Loud cheers went up through the crowd. Fireworks were set off into the darkening sky. Attendant goblins standing on either side of the balcony dumped huge buckets of confetti on the crowd. Sarah was almost certain the cheers would never end. 

Jareth, kneeling, reached out for her hand and brought it to his face, kissing it. The crowd cheered louder. 

"I hope you enjoy your celebration, Sarah."

And she did. The goblin fireworks continued throughout the night. Sarah and Jareth joined the goblins in the courtyard and in the market streets. There were games to play like throwing feathers through a woven hoop, and card games that involved hand drawn cards and tiny rocks. There were food and drinks all around them. Lanterns made of paper and brightly colored glass went up everywhere. Goblins all wanted to shake her hand or hug her. From somewhere a goblin brought them both crowns made of flowers, which Sarah and Jareth wore for the night. There was dancing, not the swirling waltzes of the court, but the fun and fast line dances and jigs with partners and clapping in time with the fiddles and pluckings of lutes. 

It was during that night that she realized that while she enjoyed the glamour and ritz of the High Court, being here like this - running through pressed dirt streets in soft shoes with friends under the starlight was even better. Her heart felt full and warm. 

The festivity continued all night, and very likely would continue in a similar fashion until past when the sun rose. It was still dark, however, when Sarah caught Jareth's eye above the sea of goblins, and they both knew. 

He drew away from the crowd, closer to her so she could hear him with his having to shout. 

"Are you ready to go home, Miss Sarah?" he reached a hand out towards her.

"I think so." she took his hand and they slipped away from the celebration into a quiet castle hallway.

"I'll see you again, later on perhaps." he stepped back, and raised a hand to send her back to the Aboveground.

"Wait!" she called out.

He paused.

"Don't just send me away like that. Come with me. See me off."

He considered it before asking "Are you sure?"

"Yes." she nodded and stretched her hands out to him.


	13. Chapter 13

He took hold of her hands and there was that same topsy turvy feeling she had experienced when she arrived. 

When she opened her eyes, Sarah was surprised to find that they ended up on the sidewalk outside of her apartment building. 

"Jareth." she paused, looking up at the third floor where room was. "I don't have a key with me."

Jareth looked sheepish. 

"I'm terribly sorry about that. I can't just show up in someone's home, I have to be invited in."

They began walking closer to the building. 

"But I let you in when you tapped on my window."

"I'm afraid invitations only work on a one time basis, unless specifically stated otherwise."

The chain link door providing safety to the building looked extra steely in the dark, it's locked doorknob a deep grey. The moonlight glinted off of the leaves of the creeping vines growing up the side of the bricks and on a trellis.

"I'm also afraid it looks like you'll have to climb it."

"It's a shame the fire escape is on the other side..." Sarah took hold of the trellis and tested its strength. 

When she was assured it didn't seem liable to break, she stepped up onto it.

"You'll catch me if I fall, right?"

"Of course."

She kept her focus on the open window above and tried not to think about all the small insects and spiders that were very likely touching her at this moment, disturbed from their homes by her grasping hands and prodding feet. She managed to crawl in through the window and landed in an undignified ball on her floor with a sigh. She sat up and leaned her head out the window.

"You can come in now." she called as loudly as she dared in the middle of the night.

A moment later Jareth, in owl form, flew inside and perched next to her. 

Sitting on the carpet, bathed in moonlight with only the sound of the gentle breeze outside, she would have thought that nervous feeling in her stomach would have left as soon as she was out of danger of falling off the trellis. Instead, it only seemed to grow, and it took her a few minutes to remember that it was directly related to the presentation she still had to give. She put her hands on her stomach and groaned. In all of the excitement Underground she had completely forgotten it, only to now have it hit her again in full force. 

"Are you alright?" Jareth, having transformed once again, looked concerned. 

"I just remembered my presentation." she struggled to her feet. 

Jareth cocked his head.

"Sarah... Do you really mean to tell me that you, who scarcely even two days ago stood in front of the High Court and argued a most unpopular opinion, managing to sway the hearts and minds of three score sidhe to your side, and then stood in front of an entire kingdom and as they were told the results, is afraid of sharing an idea with a handful of people sitting a at desk?"

She grabbed a pillow off a chair and threw it at him. He ducked.

"It's not the same, ok?" she ran her fingers through her hair, and began walking towards the kitchen. 

"And I swear to all that is good in this dimension and the next, if all that stuff we just went through in the Underground was some scheme of yours to make me feel better about this presentation, I will scream so loudly it will wake the dead and I will lead my newfound army of the undead to your castle and overthrow your throne and name myself the new Queen of the Underground." she pulled two mugs out of a cupboard. "Do you want some tea?"

"Let the dead sleep a little longer, in that case. I assure you the timing of this was merely a happy accident - or at least, it turned out happily in our favor. My sphere of influence does not extend over the other sidhe, and you're quite aware of their feelings towards myself which I can tell you are only too real. Besides, I would never play with my kingdom so carelessly, though in hind sight the timing of these two events was remarkable. There are forces more powerful than I out there - perhaps the very Universe itself loves you as well." 

Sarah blushed just a bit as she finished preparing the tea. She set one mug in front of Jareth and sat down opposite him. 

Jareth took a sip of the tea and raised an eyebrow. 

"Peach?"

"Yeah." she rolled her eyes. "It's a good flavor, so what?" 

"I do agree." 

They say in silence for a few minutes. 

"Would you like to talk about why the presentation feels so different?"

Sarah leaned over the table. 

"It's not that I wasn't nervous at the High Court - I was - but... When I had to talk... It wasn't for me, it was for you." 

Jareth waited for her to continue. 

"I didn't have to think about myself because I wasn't fighting for myself. There was no question that the goblins deserved to be free." 

"And is there any question that you deserve a promotion?" he asked gently. 

She frowned. 

"That's just it. If the sidhe had decided against me, it would have been on them - that they couldn't see what clearly needed to be. But - if I don't get this promotion - Jareth, that's on me. If I mess up and don't get it, it's because I messed up. My bosses aren't vile, they just want what's best for the company... And what if - what if I'm not what's best?" 

"Perhaps you shouldn't look at it as a personal failing, then. Not everyone is fit at every occupation. It could be your bosses would prefer to keep you in a position you already excel at then move you to one they feel you wouldn't be best at. There's no shame in that." he shrugged. "That is why I'm the goblin king, after all."

She managed a small smile. 

"Not to sound like a total peasant, Your Majesty, but this promotion would include a huge raise."

"So you do your best and leave the rest to fate."

She squirmed. 

"But what if I actually get the job and then they realize I can't even do it right? Being fired or demoted after getting it would be absolutely mortifying." 

"Sarah, do you remember junior year of college?"

She stared. 

"You were absolutely convinced that you were going to bomb on your final, that it would delay your graduation, destroy your GPA, that everyone would find out and laugh at you, and that your entire life was ruined and nothing would ever go right again. Do you remember what actually happened?"

"Yeah. I bombed. It was awful, thanks for bringing it up."

"But when the last time you thought about it?"

She thought. 

"I guess not since I was in college."

"I specifically remember you flinging yourself across a couch and sobbing that you would never be able to face anyone again."

Sarah cover her hands over her face and groaned. 

"I did do that, didn't I?"

"Yet the very next day you were back to hitting the books. You didn't even have to delay your graduation, and it never affected you in the least once you got past your bruised pride."

He took a long draught from the mug. 

"Weigh your options carefully here." he advised. "Do you think any embarrassment coming from not getting the job is so much that you can't even bear to try? Or is the likelihood of success worth sticking out through any adverse consequences?" 

He stood up. 

"It's all up to you, Sarah. But if I were you - and considering your track record - I'd start thinking about what I'd buy first with that big new pay check." he winked. 

She felt slightly heartened by his words. 

"Thank you, Goblin King."

He stood to leave. 

"Oh! Before you go -" she cleared her throat. "You are absolutely welcome here or any home of mine any time at all."

He grinned and she raised an eyebrow. 

"Just don't abuse the privilege, please."

"I wouldn't dare." he chuckled. 

In a flash he was gone. Sarah sighed and put the now empty mugs into the sink. She had several hours still before daylight, and just enough time to grab some winks before her alarm clock signalled the start of another workday. 

She changed out of her goblin finery and into her regular pajamas and crawled into bed. Although the "what-ifs" still chattered in the back of her mind, for the first time in a long time she felt peace, and she hoped she could hold onto it.


	14. Chapter 14

True to his word, Jareth did come back with several goblins the day before her presentation. They sat - or rather, Jareth sat and tried to keep the inquisitive goblins on the couch while Sarah stood in front of them and gave her long-practiced speech. 

Jareth was actually quite impressed with it. For all of Sarah's worry and concern, she had the entire thing memorized and only looked slightly nervous. 

"That was marvelous, Sarah." he grabbed the tail of a squirming goblin who was two centimeters away from falling off the couch. "How many times have you practiced it?"

"Four dozen, probably." she wrung her hands. "Do you think I need to-"

"I think you need to reward yourself preemptively for a job well done. I can't think of a single thing I'd change - your pitch is wonderful and you've done everything you can." 

A goblin on the other side of him slipped from his grasp and ran off to a different room. 

"You really think so?" she nervously used her hair behind her ear. 

"I do." he smiled. 

Feeling more confident, she left the speech as it was for the day. Her visitors stayed for a while longer, talking and eating snacks she had prepared. 

And then they were off. 

Their goodbyes were not long or drawn out - they were the casual partings of friends who would see each other just the next day, if not sooner... Except they wouldn't. 

Sarah felt a bit awkward after they left, standing there. She hugged her arms around herself. Should she have made a bigger deal of it? She had no idea when she'd see him again. She rubbed her arms and pushed it from her mind. 

Walking up to the office the next morning was a chore. She had to purposely direct one foot in front of the other, lest she suddenly turn and bolt for the exit. She heaved a heavy sigh as she entered the room where she would pitch her case in front of her potential bosses. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could be home with a bottle of moscato and a bowl of macaroni, she told herself. 

Standing in front of the room, she watched as the women she'd be speaking to filed in and sat down. They were dressed on the business side of business-casual, hair pulled back into a clipped bun or left straight, mostly flats but one pair of heels that were already causing their wearer to limp. In the midst of that awkward nerve wracked haze of silence before something happens, the strangest little thing stood out to Sarah. 

The woman on the left was wearing the same shade - the very same shade and brand, she'd lusted after that color in the store long enough to recognize it anywhere - of peach shimmer lipstick that Sarah herself had bought the past week. 

And that's when it struck her. 

These women were just like her. Heck, they probably wanted this whole over with just as badly, surely they wanted to get home to their own bottles of wine and putting their feet up and an evening of scrolling through Netflix suggestions while their dinners got cold. 

She thought of the sidhe women and the enormous gulf she had felt between them, the kind of gulf that can only be between a mortal human girl and an ageless, timeless being who's very veins pumped magic and mystery. 

But these women here - they were one and the same with Sarah. If she displeased them, the worst they could do was make her stay at her current job. And she liked her current job. There would be no boggings or being turned into a mouse or a frog. There were no kingdoms on the line here. 

If she could have seen herself in the mirror at that moment, she would have been surprised at just how reminiscent of Jareth her smirk was, the same look he'd give Sarah when a goblin went off a long story that didn't exactly make any sense but seemed very important to the goblin. 

"Good morning. How are you all today?" she asked warmly. 

Everything was going to be fine. 

She launched into her well rehearsed speech. 

When she had finished speaking, the only sound left in the room was the scritch of ballpoint pens on notepaper and for the briefest second it caused the adrenaline to rush through Sarah. But she remained composed, even when they told her they would inform her of their decision with a few days. 

As she prepared for bed that evening she no longer felt even a trace of worry. They would decide what they decided and that would be that. There would be no real loss if they chose to leave her where she was, and she would worry about how to handle the promotion after she was actually promoted. She glanced out the window into the dark sky, searching for a familiar shape in the air, perhaps. 

She hoped Jareth knew she was grateful that she was given the opportunity to practice her public speaking. But Jareth had said he wasn't behind the whole thing. So looked up to the heavens and sent a silent thank you out, to Jareth, to the universe, to whoever was listening, and then went back to bed.


	15. Chapter 15

She got the promotion. 

She could barely keep from screaming on the phone when she received the news. 

It was all a mad rush from that point on. There were offices to move and people to boss around and decisions to be made and deadlines to be met and tough calls that needed to be called and meetings to sit through and Sarah loved every minute of it. 

She excelled naturally at it and she poured everything she was and had into it. The passage of time was dotted with office birthdays and holiday parties in between work. 

In the process of focusing on her work, much fell to the wayside. It was nothing big, there was no giant turning point she could put her finger on if she looked back over it - it was insidious, almost. It started with little things, she supposed. Maybe she had too much work this week to meet an old friend at mall, or she had project the next week and couldn't go see the movie premier she wanted to see. 

These small denials added up until her life consisted of work and the occasional errand to buy food and laundry soap. Her past hobbies lay forgotten, her little treats of seeing plays or operas gone. Her spa day every month was a distant memory. 

The only plus side to all of this, of course, was the money saved. She stashed it away, invested some. Sooner or later a rainy day was coming, and she would be ready. With a little planning, so could also be ready for a very nice vacation too - assuming she could find the time. 

But it never bothered her because she loved her job. Until one day, she didn't love it quite so much anymore.   
She couldn't quite put her finger on this either, but somewhere along the line the constant work started to feel like... Work. She still liked it, but that passion she had for it in earlier years had started to wane. She was a little more reluctant to get out of bed in the morning, a little more likely to glance at the clock to see when she could leave, a little more... Burnt out. 

It was the same old same old. She missed her hobbies. She missed not working all the time. It felt like time was just slipping through her fingers. All those things she'd said she wanted to do by a certain age - an age she was steadily approaching - and she was no closer to doing them then she had been when she made the list years ago. 

It was depressing. 

If she could just carve out a little time to finish at least one of the things... And she knew if she could only pick one, it would be this one. 

The gears turned in her mind. Maybe she didn't have time in the day to take off from work, but she did have her lunch break... 

She was ready. She was going to do it. 

She was going to write a book. Just like she'd always hoped she would. 

She had it all planned out - mostly. She would spend her lunch breaks away from the office (where the call of ~extra work~ was just too tempting) and take her old laptop with her, on which she'd type away at her great American novel. 

There was a little coffee shop just across from her office building, and she figured this would be ideal. Her heart swelled as she left her building, laptop in tow, and headed towards the coffee shop. She was finally doing what she wanted! She was so excited to read her own novel. 

But as she approached the door of the shop, she suddenly didn't feel so excited anymore. She felt awkward, in fact. 

Oh no - she was going to be THAT person. The one in the coffee shop writing a novel. She paused with her hand on the door, closed her eyes, and sighed. 

She almost didn't want to go through with it. How silly it all seemed now. How ridiculous. People would point and laugh - if not out loud, surely in their minds. Definitely in their minds. They were probably laughing already just seeing her in doorway. The mental finger pointing going on right then made her want to hide. 

She pushed the door open and sent out a silent plea for strength... Or for the wisdom to know if it were better to just walk away. 

The little bell above the door rang merrily as she walked in.


	16. Chapter 16

She closed the laptop and tossed her now empty cup into the trash bin. As she rushed towards the door, Jar- er, Tom, called out to her. 

"I'll see you and your story same time tomorrow, yes?"

She paused and looked back, nodding. She'd be there. 

And she did. 

The next day she came back, laptop in tow, ordered a different drink, sat in the same spot, and typed. Jareth would come over on his breaks and they'd share a scone or a muffin or a cinnamon roll and discuss the chapter she was working on, or which character had just made their introduction, or even what blocks Sarah was facing in moving forward. 

Even when he wasn't sitting there next to her, just having him there behind the counter made her feel like she wasn't all alone in the cafe. 

So she kept coming back, and she kept typing. 

For all of their conversations on the couch of the coffee shop, she never did ask him what he was doing here. She thought about it to herself at times. How much time did he spend Aboveground that she didn't know about? Was their meeting here purely coincidental? Had this been a secret wish of hers - one from so deep down inside she herself wasn't even fully aware of it? This in particular occupied her mind the most. It was a little unsettling that perhaps he was aware of things about her that she might be missing. But she trusted him, and nothing in all their years of acquaintance had ever made her uncomfortable or uneasy around him. She had wanted some sort of sign of whether or not she should write. Maybe that was it. 

But that was such a... Such a deep, personal type of wish. She hadn't - as least as far as she knew- sent that wish out in the hopes of it being granted in such a way. Was that why he was here? Could he read her subconscious? It made her squirm to think of the other things he could be reading off her if that were the case. 

Although he was just as likely here for some other reason. He'd held jobs Aboveground before Sarah came on the scene, she was almost certain. It dawned on her that she hadn't asked him that either. What was his life like before her? She half didn't want to know, didn't want to be reminded of just how old he actually was. He'd probably start talking about 'during the big war' - 'World War II?' Sarah would ask, incredulous; 'No, the first one,' he'd probably say, and Sarah would die a little inside at that. She didn't want to date a man who was older than her grandfather. 

And then she would blush at these thoughts in her own mind, for of course they weren't actually dating. There was nothing of the sort happening. But sometimes... Just sometimes, she'd let her mind wander just a bit, and she wondered how she really felt deep down, and if Jareth knew the answer to that better than she did. 

It made her feel terribly awkward sometimes, the thought of the possibility that he could read her like a book - especially those times when they'd be sitting on the couch together and he'd have to reach across her to grab something off the table... And how she wondered if he knew that sometimes she'd place something there on purpose so she could later ask him to reach for it so it would make him lean just a little closer to him and how whether or not he could hear her taking just a little deeper of a breath as he did, inhaling his cologne and reveling the intimacy of it all (the intimacy of asking someone to grab your reading glasses off the table? In her more clear-thinking moments - the ones not spent within fifty feet of Jareth - Sarah shook her head at some of the thoughts that cropped up). 

But the school-girlish thoughts were a pleasant distraction from her daily routine. She was coming to find that she looked forward more and more to her lunch breaks then she did to work itself. She had long since moved past any embarrassment at typing away in the coffee shop, and she was moving from being annoyed at writer's block to viewing it as an interesting challenge to defeat. 

She was falling in love - with writing. 

Or perhaps, she was rediscovering a love that had always been there, dormant under the surface of work and adult responsibilities. She had always wanted to be a writer when she was small. She had put that dream aside at some point to focus on other things, but now it was fully fledged once more after having stretched its dusty wings. 

Her book was not the first thing she'd written - thought it was her first actual book. She had written essays for school of course, and a handful of angsty, overly dramatic poems in her early teens... Followed by a couple of fan fictions for a certain cartoon she used to watch involving girls with bright, candy color hair who were secretly rockstars, but she wasn't sure if she felt proud or ashamed of those fics - she imagined that's how most people feel about looking back at their actions of when they were seventeen. 

At the least, she could not have been more pleased to be back in writing, to be able to fully articulate what she meant and to be able to draw on her life experience and those of people she knew in a way that was so out of reach in her tender youth. 

So she kept going back. And back, and back, and back, and...

Every lunch break, every spare moment at home, peaking into the ever-growing text document. 

Every fleeting thought in the lulls of now-boring meetings, back to the way the summer rain had looked on the coffee shop windows as she had rested her feet on the little wooden table and absorbed the sound of easy listening music played softly in the background as she had clacked away at the keys, the feeling of warmth radiating off of the body so close to her own, the mismatched eyes scanning the screen as wrote.

Every bedtime thought that danced through her slowly fading-into-oblivion consciousness, back to the snowy afternoons wrapped in scarves and sweaters, spent hoping her laptop wouldn't freeze from the weather and stealing glances at the stupid Santa hat Jareth had to wear - the one that she swore to him she wouldn't laugh at but still couldn't help the wry smile that bubbled up in her when she looked at it. 

Back to the sultry humidity of midsummer, drops of sweat rolling down the sides of the thin, clear plastic cup filled with berry-red tea and ice. 

Back to the dark days illuminated by tiny lights and steam coming off the top of festive paper mugs like puffs of breath from a living thing, the taste of a cupcake as it melted into pure sugar in her mouth. 

Back to how words flowed from her fingertips onto keys into electricity and onto the glowing screen to be absorbed by eyes and distilled into thought once more. 

Her life became long interludes with the real living happening at coffee shop; black and white TV commercials to be sat through until the beginning of the delicious technicolor program in the middle of the day, every day. 

Time passed like this, and in the midst of those interludes she came to a conclusion about her future. She was ready to pull the proverbial sails in a different direction, ready to catch a new wind she'd never sailed on before. Oh, she was ready.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever started writing a chapter, had a plan for EXACTLY how it was supposed to go, then had to take a break from it, then forgot to write down what needed to happen, only to open your document file a month or so later, read the chapter (that by now you can't even remember writing), and then think "what the fresh hell was going to happen after this?"? 
> 
> Well that's what happened here. TWICE.

Change, even good change, can be scary. Sometimes, it's exactly the good change that's the scariest of all. 

Sarah didn't tell anyone of her plans, keeping them to herself and quietly going about the preparations. It made her heart flutter to think of it and put pep in her step. 

She had always been frugal with her money, but now even more so. Investments were made, stocks carefully planned, and accounts lovingly tended. 

She buckled down on her writing. She had written quite a lot, but there was still so much to go. And then there would be editing, sending it off... But there was nothing she wanted more than this, so she kept at it. 

She had always enjoyed her moments at the coffee shop, but now she cherished them, tried to commit them to memory. Their end was in sight, and while the thought of finishing her book excited her, it was also sobering to realize that the atmosphere she had created here would be over soon. 

As she grew closer to completing the book, she began spending more time on it. She had courageously asked Jareth what he was doing after work, half dreading the answer that he would be busy, but he simply smiled in a such a way that seemed to say he had been waiting for that question a long, long time. 

They started more time together now that the book was nearly done, as it seemed there was even more work to do. Last minute name changes to characters, plot holes to be found, style to be smoothed out like bedsheets - or some cases, more like folding fitted sheets. Paragraphs that no longer served the story to be deleted, punctuation to be puzzled over. They spent their dinners together many nights, sometimes at pizza parlors, or else at little shops selling soup and sandwiches. 

They had been going on like this for a while, meeting three or four nights a week to grab dinner and discuss her writing. 

"What sounds good tonight?" he asked her when she appeared through the double doors of the office building. 

She glanced up the rapidly darkening sky and shrugged. It had been a long day, and she wasn't feeling on top of her game. 

Jareth listed off some of the nearby places, but nothing caught her fancy. She sighed. She was tired beyond belief, but she still wanted his company. 

"Honestly, I wish we could just go back to my place and order Chinese."

"That's fine with me." he nodded. 

"Oh." she was pleasantly surprised, but also suddenly bashful. 

He had been to her apartment before, he had even been to her apartment at night before, but something like this just felt different. 

They got into her car and she tossed him her cell phone, telling him to order whatever he wanted. She navigated the dark streets and listened to him order a number of dishes from a Chinese delivery. He seemingly had the menu items memorized, and she wondered how often he had ordered from there before. 

She unlocked the door to her apartment and nervously glanced around, unsure of how she had left it that morning. She kicked off her black patent leather heels into the corner and told him he could wait on the couch and that she'd be right back. 

She grabbed the dirty laundry she had left strewn on her bedroom floor and shoved into the closet floor. She had a hamper somewhere, yes, but most days she couldn't be bothered with such a thing. At least now if he had to use the bathroom - the only one in the apartment was on the other side of her bedroom - he wouldn't see messy clothes lying around. She changed out of her slacks and jacket and into sweatpants and a tshirt a size or so too big. 

The thought briefly occurred to her that "give-up-on-life" pants and a shirt with a saying about its wearer's love of anime was not the kind of thing you wear around someone you kinda sorta maybe like in a like-like way, but as the (generously paraphrased) saying that so often appeared on facebook next to an image of Marilyn Monroe said - if he could accept her in her goblin glamour saving his kingdom, he should also accept her in her two sizes too big and three years too old loungewear. Or was that phrase the other way around? Whatever. It was late, and she wanted egg rolls. 

When she came back out into the living room, Jareth was just closing the front door, bag full of food hanging from one hand as he used the other to lock several sets of various locks that Sarah had bolted to her doorframe. 

She grabbed some plates from the kitchen and joined him on the couch. 

"Have you come to a decision about how to start chapter 43?" he asked as they picked chicken and pork and rice from the paper boxes. 

Sarah groaned. 

"No. I keep changing my mind on what would be better. I feel like I've been thinking of it non-stop since we talked about it last, but it seems I'm no closer to real decision." she gnawed thoughtfully at the end of her chopstick. 

"Perhaps you need a break from thinking about it, then. Do you ever watch Late Show on channel 2?" 

She shook her head no. 

"They have a new host for it, she's loads funnier than the last fellow who left. It starts in a few minutes, if you're interested."

So they spent the evening watching the comedy variety show, eating various forms of pork and chicken and rice with sweet sauces, and decidedly not discussing any book plans. 

It felt so strange to Sarah, yet so comfortable. They had rarely talked about subjects that were brought up that night - up until now most topics were either about writing or closely linked to such. But pop culture, political opinions, movie trivia - these were uncharted territory. It was like seeing a whole new side of him, yet realizing everything just fit - it was so different, but so right. Had she been told back she was a teen that one day, years and years later, she'd sit on her couch next to the man who'd sent the Cleaners after her and discuss Star Wars, she'd have thought it nonsense. 

But here she was. 

They stayed up for a while later, flipping through channels, laughing at informercials and pausing on the foreign language channels - which it turned out Jareth could understand quite fluently and would translate for Sarah. 

When it was getting closer to morning than it was to the last evening, Jareth stood up to go. He helped Sarah gather up the empty boxes and chopsticks into a small trash bag. 

"Would you like me to put these in the trash chute?" he asked. 

"That'd be great."

He nodded, and an instant later the bag that was in his hands suddenly disappeared. Sarah stared for a moment, at first thinking her sleep deprived brain had missed something. But Jareth continued on as though it were nothing, and Sarah let his blatant use magic go unchallenged. He wished her a pleasant night and promised to see her again at the coffee shop. She saw him to the door and wished him a good night. 

It was after she had completed the third lock that she wondered if he was going to actually walk back to where he lived, or if he had simply disappeared a few seconds she shut the door, and wondered whether or not the security camera would have picked up him doing that and what they would make of it. 

When she woke up the next morning, she suddenly knew exactly how she wanted chapter 43 to start.


	18. Chapter 18

Sarah bit her tongue as she typed the last handful of edits into the document. She leaned back in her seat, tilting her head as Jareth leaned in to look closer at the laptop screen. She typed the final period and clicked the save button. 

"Done." she said with a small flourish of her hands. 

"Bravo, Sarah. I knew you could do it." he grinned. "I'll be keeping an eye on the best sellers list."

Sarah grimaced. "No goblin magic."

"You don't need goblin magic, my dear. You're quite a genius in your own right. I have every confidence in this work, and not a drop of that comes from any otherworldly magic." he was sincere in his words. 

She let the document sit in her laptop for a few days before opening it again. The first hurdle - actually writing it - was over, but there was still work to do. She found her lunch breaks were more often than not spent at her desk still, emailing editors and publishers and reviewing rejection after rejection. She kept sending it out though, determined to send it to three new publishers for every rejection she received. 

She hadn't been to the coffee shop in nearly a month. Upon realizing this, she stopped in during lunch one day. It was the same bustling vibrant shop it had been, but a certain barista was not there. Whether he had moved on entirely or simply wasn't working that shift, she didn't know. She ordered her coffee to go and remembered that she didn't even have any sort of number to contact him at. A tiny pang of regret, but he always turned up when needed. She would see him soon enough, most likely. 

Next month, she told herself. I'll try to meet up with him next month, when things settle down again and I have some free time. 

One week to the day of visiting the coffee shop, she refreshed her inbox to find the fateful email. They heard her screaming at least four doors down from her office. 

The book was being published. An online publishing, a test run to see what interest there was in it. Her free time was then consumed with setting up social media and trying her best to bring interest to it. And it worked. The book creeped up the top sellers list. The publishers called her, working to set up a print publication, and, to her delight - the possibility of a book tour. A publicist was hired, bringing even more of an audience for the book. 

Things were shaken up in the best way possible. She let her bosses in on her up-til-now-secret plans - she no longer wanted to stay at her current job. She began training her replacement, a time consuming objective. The young woman she picked was a quick learner, but Sarah had so much to teach her. 

Occasionally she would find a quiet moment here or there - letting the shower water fall over her hair, or sitting on the edge of her bed stretching out her feet after a long day in heels, she would think of him. She still meant to reach out to him, certainly. Just - not right now. She was busy now. So busy, in fact, that the times she thought of him were getting less and less. There were simply too many other things to focus on, things that needed her immediate attention. 

Her replacement was fully trained. There was a big party at the office to celebrate Sarah's leaving. Cake, streamers, confetti - the whole nine yards. She had a week to herself before departing for the book tour, but even that was jam packed with shopping and packing and travel arrangements. 

Her dream had come true. 

After a final dash through her apartment, she was off in a taxi to the airport. She drummed her fingers nervously on the side of the door as the driver skillfully maneuvered through the still dark early morning traffic. Her nervous energy was spent, however, by the time she actually boarded the plane, having been used up going through security and baggage check and the gross feeling that never really left for the rest of the day after having to take even a few steps on the grimy airport floor without her shoes on. 

She looked out of her window in the late afternoon, clouds passing lazily but steadily by. She leaned her head back tiredly against the blue pinstriped seat, a brief stab of regret in her chest. 

She hadn't seen Jareth again since the coffee shop, and she felt badly over it. She should have said something - anything. She should have reached out. 

But at the same time, she felt a little sensitive over it. He just as easily could have reached out to her, couldn't he? 

She squirmed in the seatbelt, not liking the restrictiveness but too afraid of sudden turbulence to take it off. 

She didn't want to be the only one making an effort in a relationship - but, that was the keyword, wasn't it? 

Relationship. 

What was their relationship really? What exactly did she want from him? He was the one with the powers, shouldn't he be able to tell her own mind better than she could? 

She sighed. It made her head spin to think about. And as with all head spin inducing thoughts, she left it in the dark corner of her mind in favor of easier to understand, cheerier thoughts. 

This was her book tour, she told herself. This was the fruit of her labor, her long wished for moment, a literal dream come true. She stretched her legs and leaned back once again. She wanted to savor every second of this, etch it into her mind for all eternity. Her book tour. Nothing would spoil this moment.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I seriously been writing this story since 2015? Two years??
> 
> OMG
> 
> WRAP IT UP ALREADY

Life became a fabulous blur for Sarah. Smokey taxi cabs with stale air conditioning, luggage that had to be sat on to get it to fully close. The sound of heels clicking across hotel lobby gabbro floors that sparkled like a small cosmos, pushing the dingy metal luggage cart across the fading carpet and struggling to fit it through the doorway of her room. Those tiny coffee pots and odd little hair dryers that, no matter how similar to your own they might be, still kept the distinct feeling of not belonging to you. Room service and starched napkins. Miniature jars of jam tucked away into a purse despite no real need for them. Tubs of ice in plastic baggies. Hotel living. The last minute panic of not being able to find her credentials after having stored them in a "safe place" that was now so safe even she couldn't find it. 

At the end of day two on the road, she took a deep breath. Her credentials, now found, hung around her neck as she sat down behind the table that had been set up for her in the middle of a bookstore. Her very first signing. 

There was a fairly small group of people here to see her, but still more than she expected. She smiled warmly at first in line, a girl younger than herself. She signed each book, posed for photos, shook hands, and proceeded with small talk. The size of the crowd was conducive to such behavior, and at the end of it she felt it had gone well, all things considered. It wasn't a very large turnout, true, but the fans had enjoyed it and really wasn't that all that mattered? It was the start of something good. Hopefully. 

And just like that, it was over. But it wasn't really over - it was only the beginning. After packing up her bag and tossing out the now empty bottle of ginger ale she had drank during the event, she paused and looked back at the folding table now being disassembled. The first of many, she told herself. Although she didn't spend very long looking back, that lone table and the crowd control tape and blue curtain were etched into her memory. When she'd speak of it again in the future, she never mentioned why she spent only a second looking back at the ephemeral stage of her first success - she'd leave that part as it was, perhaps giving the impression that from this point forward there would be no looking back, only looking forward to new horizons and conquests and dazzling experiences... And that was certainly true as well, there was no denying it.   
It just happened, however, that the thought crossing through her mind as she glanced backwards from her quick gait was less about the journey on which her life was directed and more on directions to the restroom - and a solemn promise to herself to lay off the ginger ale during all future events that didn't allow for breaks. 

Even with the small crowd, her hand was cramping by the end of the session. She rubbed it firmly during the taxi drive back to her hotel, hoping to wring the pain from the tendons and ligaments. It helped mildly, but not as much as a dose ibuprofen which she swallowed down without any water as she walked the dimly lit faded carpet of the hotel hallway to her room. 

She let the door slam shut and she flopped backwards into the bed with a satisfying 'floof'. She didn't know how they kept those blankets over the starched white sheets so fluffy, but however they did it, it was a quality job. She made a mental note of leaving a tip for the housekeeper. 

She laid on the bed in that manner for a while longer, until the thought of the room service menu enticed her into sitting up to look though it's wondrous bounty - which turned out to only be three options for dessert. 

She twisted the telephone cord around her finger, chewing on her lip while eyeing the menu. Finally steeling her resolve, she shot her finger out to jam the button that was labeled with a fork before she could change her mind. She held her breath as it rang, silently reciting her order in her mind. 

"Yes, this is room 708? I'd like to get a slice of the chocolate cake, a slice of the cheesecake, and one of the key lime pie? That's fine. Uh, yes - three forks with that please. Thanks." 

She hang up the phone, embarrassed but excited for the three separate dessert plates she would be consuming. She was faintly certain that somewhere it listed that she was the only occupant of the room, but she dimly hoped that the extra forks might hide the fact that she intended to eat the very last morsel of each plate herself. 

All sense of shame quickly disappeared later that night as she sprawled out across the blankets with each plate on the foot of the bed in front of her as she watched mindless comedies on TV and rotated bites of chocolate, cheesecake, and lime, all washed down with ice water from a tall glass that had been topped with cling wrap and still faintly smelled of it. 

Sometimes, she though to herself, you just gotta treat yourself.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after losing an entire hard drive of writing years ago, I resovled it would never happen again and proceeded to use a site that stored all my notes and drafts online. 
> 
> That site recently closed down without warning, taking a good deal of my notes and drafts with it. 
> 
> Yeah.

The signings continued, and as they did, the popularity of her book rose. Crowds steadily grew and lines lengthened, and events shifted away from small bookstores to larger conventions. In addition to signing, she was now being requested to speak at panels. 

It was at one of these convention panels that she announced her big news - the beginnings of a second book. Or at least, the concept of the second book. One didn't find much time to write while touring, but it didn't stop the ideas that would germinate in the back of her mind and manifest as hastily typed notes on her phone. 

The tours had been amazing, but she knew they would be coming to end sooner rather than later as she discussed with her agent. She needed stability to write. So kept that in mind all the more on her next trips, trying to savor even the less enjoyable aspects. She would finish out the year touring, and then she find a place to settle and get to work. Something just under the surface of her mind itched, begging to be brought to the surface, but it felt like the remnant of a half remembered dream from the threshold of sleep, and the more she tried to grasp for it the deeper it hid. 

It was just after one of these convention events that Sarah sat in the hotel's restaurant at the bar for a let evening meal of buffalo wings and a martini. She had kicked her shoes off, hoping no one would notice - or at least not bring it up despite it being in clear violation of the restaurant's shoe policy. But corn pain outranked that tiny sign on the wall in Sarah's opinion, so off the shoes came. 

The restaurant wasn't terribly crowded, least of all the bar where she was sitting, but there were at least a handful of other diners whose conversation filled the air with a gentle hum - a much welcome change from the cacophony of the con halls. 

"Excuse me?" a voice came from behind her. 

She choked on the olive she was contemplatively chewing on, realizing the jig was up. She looked behind her, seeking the source of the voice, already preparing her arm to sweep the remaining chicken wings and sourdough rolls into her purse before making a quick getaway. 

What she had expected to be perhaps a large bouncer with sunglasses here to escort her from the premises turned out to be a familiar face from earlier. She scowled as she tried to place where she knew him from. 

"Uh, I'm sorry to bother you at dinner like this." 

A lightbulb went up over her head - he was a screenwriter from a science fiction television show. His panel had been speaking just before hers, and she caught part of it before going on herself. 

"It's ok!" she pushed the bread basket back a little from the edge of the counter once more. 

"I'm Alex." he extended his hand. 

"Yeah, I know - I heard the last few minutes of your panel earlier."

He chuckled nervously. 

"Do- do you mind if I..?" he gestured to the chair next to hers. 

"Go ahead." she nodded. 

The bartender came and took his order. 

"Please excuse me, but it's not often I meet someone who leaves me starstruck. I loved your book."

Sarah giggled. The though that someone who had worked in Hollywood and on movie sets was impressed by her? Time would tell, of course, if he was being genuine or this was mere flattery. He did seem truly nervous when he had approached her. 

"Oh? What was your favorite part?" she asked coyly. 

If she had a dollar for every so-called fan of her work who had either not read it, missed the point entirely, or was only pretending to have liked it to have a chance to talk to her... She'd never need to take another job again. 

He sighed. 

"While your world building was impressive without being heavy handed, and the characterizations of the supporting cast were so realistic and well balanced, I think I have to say the very best part of it - for me at least - was the way you got the reader to really sympathize with the main character and feel the emotions she did. I bawled like a baby at more than one chapter." he ducked his head, smiling. 

Dang. 

He was the real deal. 

It was one of the best conversations Sarah had had in ages. Alex was funny and smart and it turned out that they shared more common interests than they would have thought. They ended up ordering more food and staying much later than she had originally intended. Neither one of them were paying much attention to anything else going on in the rest of the restaurant, so neither one noticed as the man in the far corner booth walked out the double doors and into the night.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies in advance <\3

It was going to be a big day for Sarah. He had only limited clairvoyance, true, but it was enough to be able tell that something on that date was going to happen for Sarah, something good, and it would change her life forever. 

Since he had left her last, he had checked in on her doings every so often through the crystals, and occasionally in person although that was much more seldom. When he did venture Aboveground he kept to sidelines and the shadows, sometimes in the guise of a human, sometimes as an owl, but never in direct contact with her, and never using magic on her actions. It would have felt presumptuous to show up unannounced and uncalled for, so he was biding his time. If she never called for him again - well, that was the way it went, then. He wanted to respect her wishes, even if it meant he didn't get to be with her. 

There had been numerous times, however, that he had considered simply contacting her, or showing up in a signing line. But would that be out of line? He didn't want her to feel watched - even if he was watching. She hadn't wished for anything specific, so what reason was there for him to approach? If she would reach out just once, let him know beyond a shadow of a doubt... 

As time went on, he became more convinced that he could - and should - make the first move in this scenario. It was just a matter of timing. 

He had been mired in work and affairs Underground for quite some time, although in the midst of it all he did find time to declare the day her book was published a national holiday in the kingdom - a much needed cheerfulness for the goblins, considering they had been victims of recent natural disasters lately. Rebuilding took time, but morale was improved by knowledge of their dear champion's success up above. 

By now, things were nearly running as well as they had before all the trouble started, so Jareth decided that a small trip away was in order. And such an auspicious day for his beloved - he wanted to be there to see that. 

So Aboveground he went. He sat in on her panel and listened to her talk about writing and inspiration. It was a lovely talk, yes, but so far nothing seemed to have changed for her. Perhaps someone listening in the audience was deciding to offer her a new job? Perhaps it just hadn't happened yet. No matter. Something would happen, that he was certain. 

He lost track of her after the panel. When he found a quiet place (not an easy feat in such a venue) he quickly conjured a crystal. In it he viewed the image of Sarah walking through double doors into a restaurant. He recognized it as the hotel restaurant and began on his way to it. 

When he got there she was ordering her dinner. As the bartender took her menu and went to the kitchen, Sarah put a hand to her forehead. Jareth remembered this quirk of hers - migraines that would come on suddenly, often triggered by noise, and she would put her hand across her forehead and leave it there for a while. 

He sat down at a small table in the corner, not wanting to disturb her at the moment. It had been a very long day for her, what with signing for hours out on the floor and the reverberations from the microphones during the panels. He wanted her to enjoy the silence for a little while longer. There would be time later that night for them to meet again. Perhaps after she had finished her food, which the bartender had just brought out to her. 

That was when he noticed the man from the panel just before hers had walked tentatively into the restaurant, looking around before focusing on the bar. 

He passively watched as the man approached Sarah, startling her slightly, but kept his magic at ready should the situation turn badly. 

The situation, however, seemed to be going very well. Sarah's laughter floated over to him, and he could tell the two were enjoying each other's company. 

He glanced at the clock. The day was almost over. 

And that's when it hit him. 

This was it. 

This chance meeting, this conversation happening over a basket of nachos, this was the foreseen event. 

He looked down at his plate, pushing the remains of a strawberry shortcake back and forth with his fork, suddenly feeling very awkward. 

What had he been expecting? Not this. Maybe an announcement that a company want to buy the rights to her book and make a movie with her as the director. Maybe becoming the recipient of some kind of award. But certainly not this. 

He shouldn't have come. 

There was certainly no way he could approach them now. There was no point, and besides that any interference might shift the course of the future. This was a good event for her, and he needed to leave it at that. 

She deserved all the very best events. 

So he paid for his food, left a few dollars for the waitress, put his wallet away, stood up, and walked out double doors, wishing he had stayed Underground where he belonged and hoping he could escape the restaurant without notice. 

He had been wrong about contacting her, after all.


	22. Chapter 22

Sarah and Alex stayed well past midnight at the bar. When it was finally time to leave, they exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. Sarah went to sleep that night with a smile on her face, unbelieving at her own good fortune of meeting someone who seemed to have the potential of becoming a great friend - and something more. 

She hadn't had a friend in a while. She kept in touch with a handful of people from college and her former workplace, true, but it had seemed that the more she got into the world of writing and traveling, the more others pulled away. Or was she simply busier? Had she been the one to pull away? Either way it fell, the fact of the matter was her world was becoming vastly different from the world the rest of her friends inhabited. Whether that meant that she found it harder to relate or the others were just busy with their daily grind - the end product was the same. 

They spent the last two days of the con together when they had spare time. And when it was over and they each had to go their separate ways, they took to texting and following each other on various social media. When time allowed - or in some cases, when time was viciously bent to their will so as to allow - there were phone calls and long emails. 

Sarah's tour continued on across the states. Bookstores and conventions littered across America, all with a little extra time to be spent how she saw fit. Sandy piers and wooden boardwalks illuminated against the dusky summer sky, tea in pastel cafes filled with wrought iron decor and sweet pastries, neon signs glowing above planted cacti in the desert, leaves changing the color of both themselves and everything they fell on viewed from warm eateries serving lobster and chowder, pine trees lining hiking trails like silent guardians. Snow covering unfamiliar landscapes and turning them into fairy lands. And through all this change there was one constant. Alex. 

Always Alex, with an email on the weekend filling her in on details of what was happening on set, or a random smiley face text that never failed to make her smile, or how he was always willing to take five and listen to her if she was feeling lonely or having a bad day. There were even a handful of events they happened to both be appearing at. While she loved every tour and event she went to, the ones with Alex were the very best of all. 

With someone in almost instant contact at her fingertips, she found herself wishing less and texting more. And although Jareth was increasingly absent from her thoughts, he wasn't altogether gone. 

There wasn't anything specific she really needed to wish for, besides someone to talk to. Was it appropriate to summon a possibly immortal being from another dimension for small talk? And it would feel so silly to ask him to come to an event, like she was bragging or showing off. Besides... Shouldn't he want to come to one all on his own? He'd never even bothered to show up at any of them, never seemed to care enough to try any sort of contact with her. She wondered, sometimes, if she shouldn't just ask him - but she never, ever wished. She didn't want to force him, or make him feel obligated. So she never wished, not for anything. 

The end of the year was closing in, and with it would come the end of her tour. She was discussing this on the phone one mid December night with Alex when the idea was - for lack of a better word - proposed. 

"I can't believe it's almost over. I mean, it's been amazing but I'm kinda looking forward to taking a break from it all, you know?" she lay on her back on the hotel bed, staring at the oddly textured ceiling. 

"What are your news years plans? I know Christmas Eve you have a con, but that's the last one, right?"

"Yeah. I really don't know. I guess I didn't think that far ahead. I probably should have planned where I'm gonna go after this." she groaned. 

"You should move in with me."

Sarah was silent, trying to process the words she had just heard. 

"What?"

"Come on, it'll be great. Move in with me. There's plenty of room here. New year, new start, new home, new boyfriend..."

Somewhere along the lines their friendship had crossed into something a little more romantic, and although they both knew they each liked the other as just a little more than strictly friends - there wasn't much talk of seriousness for the relationship simply stemming from the fact of how often they both traveled. But this... This would be a big step. 

The only thing she could liken this feeling to was ages ago when she was at a state fair and had been somehow convinced to try the roller coaster. She had sat back in her coaster car, climbing up and up and up and knowing the drop was mere seconds away. The squirming excitement of knowing something drastic was about to happen was the very same. 

"Do you mean it?"

"Of course! So... Is that a yes?" he teased in a singsong voice. 

"That's an 'I'll think about it'!" she laughed. 

And she did think about it, and they continued to discuss it over the next week. 

And two days before New Year's Eve, Sarah moved in with Alex.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another chapter! I have 3 more ready to go, will likely post them every other day.

Sarah set the heavy cardboard box on the sparkling breccia countertop and strayed over to the floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over the bustling city. The penthouse apartment was surprisingly spacious, and she couldn't wait to see this view at night. After traveling for so long, it was going to feel weird to be in one place indefinitely, but it also felt like a sigh of relief. The weirdness would pass soon enough. 

"This is the last of 'em." Alex kicked the front door closed with his foot, his hands full with the last of the boxes of Sarah's belongings. 

And so the ending of her tour life was also the beginning of her life with Alex. 

They stood on the balcony - a much smaller balcony than Sarah thought it should be - and watching the New Years fireworks exploding over the buildings. The sharp air bit at Sarah's nose and coloured her cheeks, making her blink hard at the shimmers of green and red and gold against the deep darkness. Alex's arms wrapped around her waist and held her tight. The small beep of his watch reminded them of the time, and he turned to face him. While the people on the streets below gave a resounding shout, champagne flew and confetti floated, Sarah and Alex rang in the new year with a kiss. 

After the hectic week of unpacking, and after a few more weeks of settling into a routine, Sarah was able to focus on writing her next book. Life found a steady rhythm, and Sarah enjoyed it. Long mornings to sit and ponder and write and edit, afternoon trips to shops and the cinema, evenings at various restaurants interchanged with take-out and Netflix.

The book stalled in places, but sped by in others. Finally the first draft was finished and sent off to the editors. Sarah, having just arrived from the post office, sprawled across the sofa and sighed happily. She would have a week off now, at least. She deserved it, after all that. She pulled out her cell phone and made reservations at her favourite sushi place for the evening. Alex hated sushi, but he had promised her they would both go after the first draft was finished. 

Reservations made, she turned on the tv and flipped through the channels, giving each one a couple seconds to prove its watchability, and judging each one unworthy of viewing. Until, that is, a commercial that caught her interest. In honesty it was not so much the commercial itself as the song being used in the background of the commercial. She hadn't heard that song in ages, it felt like. Memories of junior year in college came flooding back - sticky pleather booths, greasy cheese sticks and acidic marinara sauce, the neon signs reflecting off the ice cubes in half-drunk glass of Sprite... And the boy in the bright blue jeans up on the stage. 

She didn't realize she was crying until she chanced to put her hand to her face. How silly I am, she thought. Why am I crying? 

Her life with Alex was good. 

Wasn't it? 

But she couldn't deny that rush of emotions that had come unbidden, that deep, hollow ache in her chest as she thought as of the past, of the passage of time, and the words left unspoken. 

She turned off the television, wiped her hands across her face and then on her pants, and began to try to tidy up the already insanely tidy room. Twice more in this endeavour she found herself crying again. On the fourth attempt to move a candle that didn't really go well anywhere it was put, her mind half stumbled out a thought that had been repressed for so long - but she stopped herself, asking where this would even lead. She was with Alex. What was she expecting? As much as it hurt in the moment, to see him again and say goodbye again and try to go on without him would hurt even worse. 

No. That wish could not be wished. She would go on as Sarah Williams, human, writer, girlfriend of Alex, and whatever other descriptors fit her current situation. And he would go on as King of the Goblins, presumably living Underground, and continuing whatever he was doing. There could be no more than that. At least, not right now. 

She rubbed her eyes and went to reapply her makeup. 

 

It was early afternoon in the Underground. Jareth was out of the castle, horseback riding on a trail through the fields on the outskirts of the kingdom. He pulled back on the reigns, palomino horse pausing its canter. 

He heard the wish - or the start of it at least. 

He heard it pause, heard it falter and trail off, unfinished. 

He knew why it wasn't finished. 

He knew that he could infer the rest of what would have been said, could surely show up at that very moment and she would not turn him away. 

But he wouldn't. He didn't. She hadn't finished the wish. He must let her live her life how she chose, and she had chosen. 

He urged the horse back into a gallop, and told himself that the stinging he felt around his eyes was from the wind.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIED LETS WRAP THIS UP
> 
> NEW CHAPTER *EVERY DAY* UNTIL I RUN OUT OF ALREADY WRITTEN CHAPTERS 
> 
> WOO YEAH

Never had Sarah's makeup felt as much like a mask as it did at the sushi restaurant. Red lights hung from the ceiling, but instead of feeling warm and inviting, they just seemed dull and the color of traffic lights. She sighed as she sat down, glancing over the menu. She was trying her best to forget her earlier thoughts, but the feelings still lingered. 

She tried to put effort into the small talk with Alex, to push aside the things her mind seemed intent on ruminating about. She loved Alex, she did. She looked up at him, as he stared down at his menu searching for something that wasn't raw fish and grimacing. She smiled. This wasn't so bad, surely. 

They ordered, and talked a little more, and the food arrived. 

"Bet you're feeling pretty good about getting that first draft done." he sipped his drink. 

"Yes! I can't wait to get back to touring. I loved that."

"Yeah, enjoy it while it lasts."

"What'd you mean?"

"Well, it's just not something you'll always be able to do, y'know? You can always find a little time to write, for example, but once you have kids you can't really go on cross-country tours anymore."

Sarah burst out laughing, but suddenly stopped when she saw the puzzled look on his face.

"Oh shit, you're serious." she put her hand over her mouth. 

He exhaled loudly. 

"Yeah, I was..."

"You want to have kids?" she prodded her spicy tuna roll with a single chopstick, suddenly nervous. 

"I do! I mean, not right away, of course. We'd have to move somewhere bigger, and be more settled in general, but yeah - two girls and two boys." he was grinning, obviously pleased at sharing this life plan with the person he assumed would also be pleased at living it. 

She didn't know how to tell him that she'd known since age eleven that she never wanted children. She liked kids well enough, but that was for babysitting and stuff, things where at the end of the day you handed the kid back to someone else and kicked back with some wine and a book. Sarah could compromise a lot in a relationship, but this was one of her true non-negotiables. She thought that was only fair, considering it wouldn't be up to her husband to put aside nine months of bodily turmoil per kid. Maybe he wouldn't mind skipping this little part of his vision for the future-

"It's like the one thing that's always been a constant in my life, no matter how much I changed what I wanted to be or where I lived - two girls, two boys." he nodded happily. 

Damn it. 

"I've never really pictured having children, honestly."

"Oh."

It was awkward. Luckily the waiter came back to refill their drinks. 

"Do you think you might-" he began. 

"No." it came out a little faster than she had meant, but she didn't want any false illusions on his part. She loved Alex, but her boundaries were her own, and she didn't think it fair to the hypothetical children either. 

"Oh."

She cleared her throat. 

"Since I have the week off, do you want to go see a movie tomorrow?" she offered. 

"I actually have a meeting tomorrow."

She nodded. "That's ok. Maybe a little later this week."

"Yeah, maybe."

The taxi ride back to their apartment was pensive and the silence only broken by the hum of cars passing by outside and the low, constant drone of the radio in the front. 

Once back inside, Sarah got dressed for bed. It was late. Alex, however, told her to go on ahead without him. He wanted to read a book for a while. 

"You don't want to read it in bed?" she leaned against the doorframe, watching him deliberate over which book to pull from the shelf. 

"Nah, the light will keep you from sleeping."

"I don't mind. Are you sure?"

He walked over, book in hand, and kissed her on the cheek before turning back to his chair. 

"Goodnight Sarah."

"Goodnight." she withdrew and closed the door almost all the way shut. 

The kiss felt just the same as always, but she could tell from how he refused to meet her eyes that he was hurt. 

She lay on her back in the semidarkness, stating at the ceiling fan going around and around, listening to the gentle him of the electricity flowing through the walls. 

She glanced at the clock. It was late. Or rather, it almost getting to the time where one could say it was early. Alex still avoided the call of sleep, staying firmly in the living area, presumably still reading. It must be difficult for him, too, she imagined. To find out your life long wish is incompatible with the person you want to share it with. For a fraction of a second, just as she was falling asleep, she considered going back on her vow to herself, considered what it would be like with two girls and two boys. 

When she awoke in the morning, her resolve was firmer than ever. That would not be her path in life. She and Alex needed to talk. 

But when she rolled over, Alex was not in bed. When she got up and roamed through each room, he wasn't in any of them. He hadn't even come to bed at all the past night.


	25. Chapter 25

There was, however, a sticky note stuck to the stainless steel fridge. 

"off 2 meeting, b back l8r, luv u!!" 

It was punctuated with a little smiley face. She left in on the fridge, pulling out some leftover noodles to be heated up and taken to the couch to mull over her thoughts. 

She watched the steam rise off the freshly microwaved noodles and decided she had time to grab her robe from the other room. It didn't feel like a getting-dressed kind of day, and she had a feeling Alex would be out late anyway. Besides that, rain was pouring down outside. No point in going out like that. 

So she sat there all afternoon, having imaginary conversations with Alex in her mind, plotting the course of where different choices in life would take her, trying potential futures on for size. 

She tried reassuring herself that this sudden realization of seeming lack of a shared future with Alex had occurred organically and was not related to any dormant feelings for certain others. It wasn't like she wanted to dump the guy over the color of the sheets. Whether or not to bring new lives into the world was kinda a big deal. 

Thoughts of her past only added another layer of melancholy. She pressed her palm against the windowpane, feeling the coolness of the glass and watching the raindrops trickle down to the windowsill, and wondered when her life had become a cliche. She really needed to talk with Alex. 

But late the afternoon Alex burst through the door, announcing a new movie deal and asking Sarah out to celebrate. As they sat on linen seats and sipped red wine while piano music wafted through the air, she certainly couldn't bring it up then. 

And she couldn't bring up later that night, he was still too happy. She would try tomorrow, let him have this night. 

But the next morning he was in a conference call, and that afternoon he slapped down a pair of theatre tickets in front of her. As they left the theatre that evening, she checked her email on phone and discovered a message from her publisher. 

"Alex, look. They got back with me about what changes to make. That's... A lot. Man."

Obviously she couldn't have a deep life changing talk when she was busy with editing and re-writing. 

So life went on for a while, awkward and slightly stilted, each of them dancing around the topic of the future, Sarah trying hard not to plan anything too far ahead, and Alex trying to fill any pause that went past twenty seconds for fear of what Sarah might bring up. 

It wasn't until several months later that they had begun to notice the changes that had been set in motion. Sarah was busier with her writing, and Alex had been busy with his own screenwriting. They still talked, and they still lived together, but it had begun to feel like they were talking across a wide canyon and existing in the same place but at different times. 

It finally could no longer be avoided one day, as they walked along the sidewalk of a shopping centre comprised of numerous smaller stores. 

Alex glanced up the name of one of the stores and stopped, going up to the display in the window. 

"Sarah, look at this." he pointed at the blue velvet case in the jeweller's window. 

She looked back for a second, already having walked ahead of him. 

"What is it?" she asked as she came closer. 

He didn't respond - they had both felt so quiet that day, as if they had run out of words - and instead pointed at a specific piece of jewellery. 

A diamond ring, to be exact. 

Sarah's heart sank. 

"Oh, Alex." she said softly. "Why?"

"Come on, why not?" he tried to pull of a half joking tone, and failed, sounding instead like he was pleading. "We love each other, don't we?" he looked again at the ring in the window. 

Sarah was silent. 

"I just-" he started and stopped. "I just, I feel like... I'm losing you. And I don't know what to do about it." his face was heartbroken, and Sarah felt her own heart start to break just looking at him. 

"Alex." Sarah pulled him away from the window and embraced him. "Of course we love each other. That's why this could never work out for us. I love you too much to ask you to give up your dreams for your future... For your family. Because if either of us were to compromise, even if it sounds so fine right now, we'd start to resent the other down the road. And I don't want to resent you, and I don't want you to resent me."

He squeezed her tighter, resting his forehead on her shoulder and sniffing back tears. She had to blink back a few of her own. 

"And you're wrong. You could never lose me, because even when we aren't together anymore, you'll still have all those times we spent together, all those late nights, those texts and phone calls, everything. All of it. Nothing can take that from us." 

Tears were rolling down her face now. 

"I don't regret anything at all. I'm so glad we had those years together."

It was as if all the words she had been struggling to find over the past months suddenly all came at once. She wasn't entirely sure she was just talking about Alex. 

"You need to live your life, and I need to live mine. And it was so awesome that for a little while, the path of our lives traveled the same direction." she sniffed. "But I think our paths are splitting now, pretty soon. And that's no ones fault, you know? That's just how it goes. But it was so, so good while it lasted. So good."

They stood there like that, hugging and crying, for a little while longer. Then they composed themselves as best they could, smiled at each other with watery eyes, and walked hand-in-hand down the sidewalk again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost to the final story arc. Thanks for sticking around through all the Alex nonsense and very noticeable lack of Goblin Kings <3


	26. Chapter 26

They stayed together until her final draft was sent off to the publisher, and then she moved into an apartment of her own. It wasn't as fancy, but it was hers and hers alone. He helped her pack and drop off boxes. They hugged one last time in front of her new home and then, just like that, he was gone. 

It was over. 

Sarah felt mentally and emotionally exhausted by it all. She needed time to regroup. And hopefully she could do just that in this next chapter in her life. 

It was weird to be on her own again after so long. She thought so much about Jareth during those first few weeks, but she ultimately decided she needed the time by herself to sort herself out - and nobody liked being the rebound. The longer she waited, the more awkward it felt. They hadn't talked in years. What if she wished, but he didn't show? Did he even still love her? Had he moved on when he knew she was with Alex? He might even be married by now. She couldn't bear the thought that she had waited too long, so she waited even longer. It was surely too late by now. The very last thing she's ever want is to see him one more time only for him to shrug and apologize that she had tarried too long - or perhaps worse, to have her wish fall on empty air and never see him again no matter how fervently she begged. 

In other regards, her life seemed to be going fairly well - until she received an email from a friend she hadn't talked to in ages. 

It was a link to a celebrity gossip site. And she was in it. 

It was just a small blurb, no more than a handful of paragraphs, but Sarah couldn't help but be skeeved out at the thought of people wanting to poke their noses into her personal business - in this case, rumours of her and Alex breaking up. 

She swore up and down she'd leave it at that, she wouldn't go search out any more of this kind of thing. 

Curiosity got the better of her, and she spent hours finding all sorts of forum posts and articles and speculation and very rude comments. It was too much. She shut off her computer. She tried avoiding it altogether, but when later that week she noticed someone in the grocery store gawking at her, she knew drastic measures were called for. 

It was at 2am, neon computer screen blaring the hot pink of the travel site over her robe and wine glass, that she screwed up her face and covered it with her hands. 

Please, she thought silently. Please, if I haven't messed it all up. I know that so much has changed, and it was all so long ago, but if there's a chance... Any chance at all... 

She began packing her bags the next day, keeping it light. So much she could buy when she got there, so much she didn't really need. She printed out the tickets and headed to airport, large dark sunglasses and wide brimmed hat. 

She needed a vacation, and she was going to get one. 

It was late when the taxi reached the front of the ski lodge. She had only enough energy to check in to her room, shove the suitcases in the corner, and fall face-first into the mattress. 

So far, so good.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have come to the end of the already written chapters. Updates will be a bit slower because of this.

When she awoke in the morning, she was half surprised to find herself alone. She even checked behind the shower curtain and in the tiny closet, telling herself that she just wanted to look around a bit, she definitely wasn't looking for anything... Or anyone. 

She's brushed out her hair and took her time applying makeup. It was just breakfast, but she wanted to look nice. Just in case. 

Once downstairs she eagerly looked around the lobby on her way to the dining room. She ordered a huge plate of waffles with berries and various sauces to drizzle over them. She sat at a table with a wall behind her, so she could see in every direction. The dining room, like the rest of the lodge, had a strange fusion of high class and folksy decor that actually worked very well. Tall windows let in the bright sunlight, made even brighter by reflecting off of the snow on the ground. Any minute, she was certain, someone would be joining her for breakfast. 

But then breakfast was finished, and even after staying at the table a while longer to drink a glass of juice so cold it made her teeth hurt, she was alone. She scrawled her room number on the bill and went outside.

The air was crisp and fresh as she leaned on the wooden railing of the deck, overlooking a portion of the lodge grounds. Snow covered the earth like a blanket, sparkling in the sunlight. People bundled in various coats and gloves went to and fro, some with ski gear and some with steaming cups of cocoa and coffee. Straining here eyes to look closely at the neon colored figures below, she searched and searched for a certain person who was nowhere to be found. She hung around on the deck for a while until she began to regret not bring a coat to put overtop her sweater, at which point she went back inside to sit in the lobby. 

The velvet of the chair was fading and worn, but it was still cushiony and comfortable. From this seat she watched the comings and goings of the people in the lobby. The best part was the fact that everyone was so wrapped up in their own wintry vacation that no one even glanced her way - a very welcome change from what had felt like a million pairs of eyeballs fixed to her back in New York. 

She sat there until her back felt stiff and her feet started to go numb. She looked at her watch. The day was getting on. Her mind wandered to the previous night. Surely, by now... But she hadn't seen anyone who even remotely looked like him. The words from childhood floated back to her now - "if you get lost, stay in one place so someone can find you". 

She was lost, but no one was coming to find her. It would be up to her to find herself. 

She heaved herself out of the chair with a cross between a grunt and sigh that she was really glad no one was paying enough attention to actually hear, and made her way outside to the shops across the street. 

Walking down the sidewalk, surrounded by happy people hurrying by and birds in the air, she finally let herself realize he wasn't coming. That part of her life was over. And as bad as that hurt, it was just how it went. Feeling bad wouldn't make him come back. 

"Goblin King," she sent out the thought, not sure how to finish it. "Wherever you are... I hope good things are happening for you. I hope you've found happiness, and love. You deserve it." 

She felt a peace in heart, almost - she had faced her fear and gotten an answer. It was a sad answer, yes, but not entirely unexpected. She had known back when things were getting serious with Alex that it was very likely Jareth would step out of the whole situation - and it was only fair, wasn't it? No matter what he had said to the contrary in earlier times, you couldn't really expect him to hang around her and her boyfriend, could you? 

As she pulled open the door of the ski shop, it was like pulling open the door to her new life. She couldn't just sit around and wait for boys - even if that boy also happened to be a King - she would go out and create her own life. 

And currently, that life was about to spend the next month learning to ski. 

She asked the shopkeeper to help her pick out everything she needed, from jackets to hats to socks to skis and ski accessories. 

The shopkeeper seemed a little confused at first, Sarah asking "Is there anything else?" after seeing each item and asking to get it. Was this some sort of practical joke? Each recommendation was met with a nod of approval, or a request for a different color, but nothing was turned away. He rang them all up nervously, expecting at any moment to be laughed at, hidden cameras jumping out from behind displays, or for Sarah to simply run out the door cackling. 

But she pulled out a credit card and swiped it in the machine, not even flinching when the total was read aloud. 

"How about ski lessons? Can I set that up here?" she inquired. 

Nothing soothes the soul like shopping, she thought as she hauled the numerous bags back to her room. 

The lesson was set up for in the late afternoon. The shopkeeper was vague about who it would be with - she would simply have to show up to the small ski rental up on the small hill and one of the instructors would be there for her one hour private lesson. She had specifically wanted a private lesson, as the thought of falling as much as she knew she was going fall was too embarrassing to attempt in a group. 

She packed away the bags in the corner of her room, pulling out the things she's need and cutting the tags off. After a quick lunch in the dining room, she gathered her gear and headed off to the hill. 

The little building which was the ski instruction office smelled faintly of mildew, and the person behind the counter told Sarah she could wait on one of the benches outside and her instructor would meet her there. 

She trudged back outside and settled herself on the bench. After a few minutes she decided to busy herself with putting her skis on. After she got them on and buckled just the way the shopkeeper had showed her, her instructor still wasn't there. She drummed her heavily gloved fingers on the bench. 

Soon. 

She looked at her watch, pushing back layered of clothing to see the mint green glow and digital numbers. 

Soon, probably. 

She watched the other students, some in groups, often falling, but more often sliding down the gentle slope and pushing their skis out to slow themselves down. Sarah hoped it wouldn't be too difficult to pick, especially considering how much she already spent on everything. 

She heard the door of the office bang shut and the quiet crunch of boots on the snow. 

A voice came from behind her. 

"Are you ready for your skiing lesson, love?"


	28. Chapter 28

Her heart leapt into her throat, and that single second managed to fill itself with dozens of conflicting thoughts - was it really him, was it just wishful thinking, was it...? 

She turned her head to look at the man who was making his way over to the front of the bench, and pushed her snow goggles to the top of her head so she could see better. 

After the brief instant of blinding light as her eyes adjusted, she saw the figure she thought she'd never see again. 

It was him. He had come after all. He was here. 

She quickly stood and tried to run the few yards of distance between them. She had forgotten, however, that she already put her skis on. 

Instead of falling romantically into his arms, she fell face first into the ground - but not before she had a chance to flail her arms around and make enough noise so as to create a scene. It was all very unromantic. 

Jareth winced. 

"Your first time on skis, I take it?" he knelt down to help her up. "Are you alright?"

She stumbled once or twice more as he pulled her up, but finally she was upright - albeit still clinging to her instructor for support. 

"I'm ok." she breathed, squeezing her hands on his arms. 

Her head was swimming, but not from the fall. She couldn't contain the grin spreading across her face as she looked up at those sparkling eyes. 

"How do you - why-" she wasn't sure how to make her mouth give form to the questions spilling over in her thoughts. She bobbed up and down for a second, hoping the movement would take up some the energy being produced by her mind. 

"Skiing since when?" she blurted out, not as eloquently as she could have, but it didn't matter anyway.

He raised an eyebrow. After he was sure she wasn't about to topple over again, he let go of her and tapped his wrist with a heavily gloved finger over the area a watch would go. 

"Now, now. Time is money."

She rolled her eyes. 

"I'm suddenly not as interested in learning to slide right now - I haven't seen you in ages!" 

He glanced over at the building he had come from. 

"I believe my boss would be less than thrilled to see me doing anything other than teaching while on the clock. There will be plenty of time for all manner of things later. But now, we ski."

She nodded, accepting this. The next hour was filled with reminders to bend her knees, frequent blinking to counteract the glare off the snow, numerous pauses to watch Jareth demonstrate, and the undeniable thrill she felt whenever he placed his hands on her. 

Icy time marched on, until finally Jareth nodded and waved for her to come back to him one last time. 

"You did well for your first time, Sarah."

She beamed. 

"Now I'd like you to practice everything we just went over for about a half hour, at least." 

Her face fell. 

"But you said - I thought we were going to spend some time together after this?" she was dangerously close to pouting. 

"Sarah," he tutted. "You aren't my only ski lesson, you know. I teach a group class in a few minutes. Look, they're already waiting." 

She whipped off her goggles to get a better look at this assortment of people who were sapping up all of the precious time she could be spending with him. It was funny, she thought to herself, she couldn't remember anything in her silent wish about other people getting anything out of this deal. 

She relented, nonetheless. 

"But I'll see you after that?" 

"Of course."

So she spent the next hour slowly practicing sliding with her knees in a squat that she was certain made her look stupid and stealing long glances at the group class. She may or may not have paused her practice a handful of times to observe whether or not she was doing any better than them. Upon deciding that while she was better than several of the other skiers, she also knew she'd need much more practice if she hoped to surpass the rest, who seemed to be picking it up quite quickly. She kept a tally in her mind of the amount of times each one fell and compared it to the number of her own falls. 

There reached a point where she couldn't feel her toes any longer and each joint was stinging from her numerous stumbles and falls, so she decided to stop. The class seemed to be almost over as well. She sat back down on the bench with an "oof", taking off her gear with frozen fingers and watching as Jareth followed up with each student, giving final recommendations and words of encouragement. 

Finally the last student trudged off, and Jareth turned his focus to her. Her heart felt like it would burst in her chest. All this time apart, and now- and now....

Now she had to wait just a little longer, as Jareth motioned that he needed to go back to the cabin first. 

She nodded eagerly, but only stayed where she was for a few seconds longer, then grabbed all of her equipment and bounded as best she could towards the cabin herself. Sarah reached the cabin office and went inside. She received a few surprised looks from the other employees, and she realized awkwardly that maybe it was supposed to be employees only here. But she stayed as Jareth rushed through some paperwork, and no one bothered to tell her to leave. 

His papers done, they both walked out into the snow once again. She could barely believe the reality of it all. It was too magical, too good. But it was happening. 

"You'll come to my cabin for a bit, won't you?" he pulled out a cell phone from a pocket deep inside his coat. 

"Of course!" she was eager to see where he was living. 

"I'll dial us a cab, I made the mistake of carpooling with a coworker today."

Sarah was eager to catch up on what had happened in their absence from each other, but there were still too many people milling about for her to feel comfortable speaking about herself - or to ask any goblin related questions. 

They had to settle for cheap small talk during the wait, each obviously full of questions bubbling just under the surface, none of them ready to be brought up just quiet yet. The cab arrived soon enough, Jareth giving the driver directions and Sarah strapping her skis to the top of the car before sliding into the backseat. 

It was there, behind the tinted windows and basking in the stuffy heat coming out of the car's vents, that Sarah found herself moving before she could hold back. There wasn't a lot of room in the cab, and they were already so close together. She barely had to pull against her seatbelt at all, sitting sideways, and put her arms around Jareth. 

Jareth seemed to anticipate this action and hugged her right back, falling into it so naturally. She didn't even realize how much she had missed that feeling of his arms around her holding her tight, how she had longed to feel him here in front of her and so real, until that very moment. It was as close to perfection as she thought was humanly possible to attain in this lifetime. She wanted this moment to never end. 

The cab driver chuckled nervously, unsure of what was going on, and glanced up at the rear view mirror every so often, hoping dearly that things wouldn't progress to higher level of awkward in his backseat. He stepped on the gas a little harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could have sworn "ski" was spelled with two "i"s but spellcheck is telling me otherwise :I 
> 
> oh well


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I very nearly accidentally uploaded the chapter that goes after this one without posting this one first and that would have been terrible. I would have looked quite the April Fool tbh   
> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Anyway, enjoy

Much to the driver's relief, they did not spend the entire ride hugging. Sarah pulled back eventually, a little embarrassed but not exactly regretful. They continued their conversation a little deeper past small talk, but they were still reserved in what topics they brought up in hushed voices. 

They soon arrived at the cabin. It was small, and in the middle of a line of other such small cabins in way that almost reminded Sarah of townhouses, but none of them were connected. Each cabin had a spacious view of the towering forest several dozen yards behind them. They had short front decks on each, some with various differing decoration - rocking chairs and wreaths and wood carved animals and lounge chairs.

The front door was a deep red, a colour that was accented on the inside as well. It was cozy but spacious considering the size of it all. A wooden staircase led to what seemed to be a loft and other rooms, but Jareth led her around this to the back of the cabin where the kitchen was.

Her many questions died on her tongue temporarily as she looked around, trying to take in as much as she could. She wondered if the cabin had already been decorated in such a manner or if Jareth had picked out each and every object that graced these walls and shelves. If they were all his choices, he'd clearly had this cabin for much longer then she'd been here - perhaps he often came here in the past whenever he needed to get away from the goblins. There was art in frames, and small trinkets lining shelf after shelf, but her eyes settled on the large bookcase, trying to read the titles of each one. 

But there was no time to pause. Jareth continued leading her to the kitchen, and she followed because it was bad manners to simply stop and gawk at your host's reading material when you were a guest. 

She soon forgot about the books when she reached the kitchen, anyway. 

"Tell me everything." she immediately asked, finally out of earshot from prying strangers. "What's happened in the Labyrinth since I've been there?"

"Quite a lot, actually. It's rather a long story. Would you like anything? Tea, hot chocolate?" he asked. 

She nodded, and proceeded to help him grab ingredients from cabinets, somehow knowing where each item would be. 

Back when Sarah had still worked at the company she would eventually leave after starting her career as a writer, she had run into an old friend from high school. They had lost touch for a while and hadn't talked since back when they were both in the same classes. As they had always been on good and friendly terms, Sarah would have assumed they could fallen into their old chatter that once flowed so easily. But so much time had passed and eroded whatever had been there, and they found conversation stilted and awkward. Finding words to say had felt like trying to find the answer for a quiz that neither of them had studied for, and when they finally parted ways afterwards the relief was nearly tangible. 

But it wasn't that way with Jareth. They carried on as if there had never been any time apart, questions and stories rolling out like the creek that was viewable from the bay windows around the kitchen table. They were immersed in their own worlds, with topics only they could know about. Political updates from neighboring kingdoms were shared and it was somehow decided they would make cinnamon rolls, anecdotes from Sarah's favorite goblins were recounted and giggled over as the dough was mixed. The dough left to rise, her experiences on her book tour were discussed over cups of jasmine tea and rich hot chocolate. 

They had years of catching up to do. She was secretly thankful that it wasn't weird, no blame or guilt on either side for the times of absence. They worked together seamlessly at the baking, a kind of efficiency flowing with an ease that had taken forever to achieve with Alex. She looked out the window at the gently falling snow and thought of Alex. She hadn't thought of him very much recently, but it was that thought that popped up out of the depths of her subconscious- "it was never like this with Alex". And it was true, it wasn't like this with Alex. But she didn't feel regret for their time together, and even more surprisingly, she didn't feel as much sadness as she thought she would at the sudden reminder of her former love. Standing here with Jareth, her time with Alex seemed like a lifetime ago. And that was okay with her. She wondered briefly how he was doing, and then Jareth asked for the jar of brown sugar from the pantry, and she let all thoughts and memories of Alex melt away like butter over an open flame. 

Another thought occurred to her.   
"These would be delicious with orange zest on them." 

She glanced at the fruit bowl, but there were no oranges. Jareth nodded towards the fridge. 

"They're in there. So Hoggle tells me that yes, he is planning a surprise party, except it's not a surprise party for me, as if I'm supposed to overlook his asking several goblins to sign a birthday card addressed to me not two minutes before I walked into the room. Can you believe the audacity of it?" 

Sarah smiled as she opened the fridge door, picturing the look she was certain on Hoggle's face as he tried to lie to his king. She glanced through the shelves in the fridge, seeing the regular staples one would expect to find there, along with a few items she had never seen before and had the suspicion that they may have been imported from Underground. 

Her airy grin had turned to a frown.   
"I don't see them..." 

"The drawers at the bottom?" he suggested. 

She dropped to a half kneel and pulled out the produce drawers one by one. These oranges were the first product to have eluded her all night. She was so thrown by this development that she didn't even notice Jareth had come up behind her to help her look. He peered over her, one hand on the fridge door. He was certain they were in there - somewhere. 

She found them in the back of the last drawer and grabbed two out, standing up suddenly and turning quickly to present her new found prize to Jareth - only to turn and find herself practically in his arms, mere inches away from him. 

A hush fell over the room. Time itself seemed to pause in anticipation, waiting to see what they would choose. 

Her eyes flickered from his mismatched eyes to his lips out of reflex. He held his breath and hesitated, uncertain of how to proceed. 

A thousand possibilities flashed before their eyes, a single moment with near infinite ways to move forward, all hinging on the very next action - will he? Won't she? Could he? Should she? The slightest of movements, to lean forward ever so gently, to close the gap between them and kiss... 

She cleared her throat, preparing herself to say something she felt needed to be said. 

He raised an eyebrow, intent on listening to what she was about to say, knowing it would be important. 

Her cheeks were flushed as she spoke, and her eyes wide. 

"If we mix some of the juice from the orange into the frosting, they'll taste even better." 

He smiled and took one of the oranges from her. 

"Let's try that then." 

Time went on. They breathed again. The fridge door was swung shut. The other possibilities faded away, waiting for a moment in the future when it would be the right time to consider them once more. 

Their conversation fell into ease again, now finally working its way towards the present after exhausting all topics from times past. The oven timer dinged and they ate their dinner of cinnamon rolls, both agreeing that the orange juice did, in fact, add that extra kick that tasted just right. 

By the time they washed up the dishes, the sun had long since set. 

Jareth glanced out at the snow, illuminated by the lamps on the back porch and falling more heavily than it had been earlier. 

"Where does the time go." he mused. "Do you want me to drive you back to the lodge?"

Sarah thought about it. He had said it causally enough, but there was the hidden implication that she could also stay if she wanted. She went to stand beside him by the window. 

"Yeah, all my stuff is at the lodge. I'd like to go back, but I also don't want you to have to drive in unsafe conditions." she was conflicted as she watched the snow. 

"As a personal rule, I try my best not to use magic while Aboveground. But the for the safety of myself and those around me I always make an exception." 

She realized a part her actually wanted to stay. She had been apart from him for so long, and she was afraid she'd lose him again. She weighed it in her mind, and eventually leaving won out. She had already ordered room service breakfast for in the morning at her room, and here she no tooth brush or case to store her contact lenses, and she didn't want a car trip where she was blind as a bat but she also had an intense fear of falling asleep with the lenses on lest they migrate behind her eyeball. 

"If you're sure it'll be ok..."

They were mostly silent on the drive back, but it was a comforting silence, lulled into an almost meditative state by the sound of the windshield wipers and the engine. As they pulled near to the lodge entrance they said their farewells. 

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"Thank you for driving me, and for having me over. Your cabin is lovely." she paused before adding playfully, "You'll have to show me the upstairs sometime."

"Oh, absolutely."


	30. Chapter 30

Upon waking the next morning, Sarah panicked. What if it had all been a dream? What if he was gone? She hurriedly jumped out of bed and threw an outfit on before heading to ski lodge, full of nerves. 

But he was there, teaching an early morning class up on the slopes. She watched him for a few minutes, the tension leaving her shoulders, before heading back to her room to get her ski gear so she could practice. 

Lesson after lesson, she improved her skills immensely. Falls were few and far between after a while, and she began to feel quite comfortable on the slopes. She went out often, sometimes spending entire days skiing, but most days spending time with Jareth. The thrill of zooming down the mountains with the wind in her face could never compare to the thrill of having him next to her. 

When he wasn't busy teaching classes and lessons, and when the two of them weren't hitting the slopes, they were exploring all the little town had to offer - which was surprisingly a lot. While it didn't take long to eventually eat at every restaurant open and shop in every corner store offered, there was an array of events hosted regularly that were always entertaining. 

Wine tasting proved eventful, an afternoon in which Sarah found Jareth was quite the lightweight when it came to such things, and she herself (after the fourth glass of wine) came up with brilliant idea of pouring the Riesling in a glass with Merlot and mixing them together - which, to her surprise at the time, did not end well. 

There was a Shakespeare production of A Midsummer's Night Dream by a traveling theater troupe, which was altogether wonderful. Sarah was struck quite harshly with a longing and nostalgia that she never would have expected - the costumes worn by the actors reminded her of the garb worn by denizens of the Underground, and she was immersed in a wistful reverie for the rest of the night. 

There were bands that came to play on temporary stages, with colored lights and large speakers and instruments of all variety. 

All of the events were pulled off exceedingly well for such a seemingly sleepy town. But the one event Sarah remained skeptical about was the carnival. 

"A carnival? For real? Here?" she gestured around the park at the back of the lodge after handing the flyer the to Jareth. 

He studied the small slip of paper, which promised a Ferris wheel along with a number of other games and rides. 

"I wonder if they'll be able to pull it off safely." he sounded skeptical as well. 

In the advancing week they both watched with disbelief as the preparations were made and the structures put together. Sometimes she'd look out from her window at night and marvel at how fast the fairgrounds seemed to grow. 

And finally, the big day came. Everything promised was there - the Ferris wheel (which was rather on the small side), the food stands, the ring toss with the goldfish bag prizes, the petting zoo, the fortune teller's tent, and a child-sized train that ran in a loop to tote kiddies around the grounds. 

Jareth wasn't able to see any of it until he got off of work late in the afternoon, so Sarah sat out on the patio in a lounge chair with a book, glancing up from the pages every so often to see what she could see of it while waiting for him to join her. 

When he finally arrived she was nearly bursting with excitement despite her previous misgivings about the whole thing. It did look very nice from what she could tell, quaint and small, yes, but everyone seemed to be enjoying it, from the grandparents laughing over the games to the teenaged couples with stacks of food to the young children screaming their faces off on the little train. 

"Look at these fish, Sarah. Aren't they a charming color?"

She had to admit she had soft spot for the shiny little orange beings in all those plastic baggies. 

"Yes." she sighed. "But I'm not ready to be a fish parent. It's just too much responsibility, you know?" 

He nodded sagely. "Well for what it's worth, I'm sure you'll be an excellent fish parent one day, should you decide to take that path in life." 

They played a few games that paid the winnings in food tickets instead of pets. As they counted out their earnings, Sarah mused out loud about the eventual purchases. 

"Lemonade, definitely. Fries, yes. Maybe a funnel cake, what do you think?"

"What's that?" he frowned. 

She covered her mouth with one hand. 

"You're kidding me, right?"

He shook his head. 

"Then that's going to be our first stop!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him over to the funnel cake stand, where after waiting in line she ordered one drizzled in chocolate and strawberries. 

They found a bench to sit on and eat this new treat. Jareth liked it, but still seemed confused as to why it was so popular. 

"It's not terrible. But it's just dough, Sarah." he lowered his voice on the last part, hoping none of the other fairgoers would hear him. 

"But it's a tradition. It doesn't matter if it's good or not, it's expected at a fair."

"Why keep a tradition if it's not good?"

"Sure it's not the best, but you're still eating it, aren't you?" she smirked. 

He paused mid-chew. 

"You do have a point." he conceded. 

They watched the sun go down and the carnival light up. The Ferris wheel was especially beautiful, with multi colored lights twinkling, and the tiny lights edging each of the booths and food stands creating a bright and cheerful rainbow of buildings. They walked up and down the rows slowly, taking it all in. At some point one of her hands must have found one of his, and they walked hand in hand, neither really certain when or how it happened, but both feeling it was the most natural occurrence. 

"Do you want to go on that?" he nodded towards the wheel turning slowly and creaking. 

She squirmed. "I don't think it's supposed to be making that noise."

"Nonsense, it hasn't rolled away all night. I'm sure it's fine. Besides, you could see the whole town from up there."

"Yeah but I can see the whole from my window in the lodge too."

"Are you afraid of heights, Sarah?" he grinned. 

"Of course not, Goblin King. Now, let's go on it together, yes?" 

He raised an eyebrow. 

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now. Or... Are you afraid of heights too?" she asked playfully, hoping he wouldn't call her bluff. 

He paused for a moment. 

"Too?" he asked mischievously. 

She laughed. 

"I'm not afraid exactly, I just... prefer to... not be up there, you know?" 

They stopped and watched it turn and change colors. 

"Care to have your cards read?" a voice called out to them from nearby and they turned to look. 

The fortune teller's tent was right behind them. The fortune teller herself was standing in front of the pulled back curtain, dressed in black and purple and holding a deck of long cards in one hand. 

"The cards can tell you all manner of things, Miss. Any question answered. Even questions about love." 

The woman winked at Sarah and nodded towards Jareth. Sarah blushed and looked down for a second to compose herself. 

"Um, no thank you. I prefer it to be a surprise." 

The woman smiled on the two lovers as they went on their way. 

"You don't want your fortune read? Not even for fun?" Jareth asked as they neared the Ferris wheel. 

"No, it feels so weird to me." she shrugged. "I mean, there's times when I feel like I want to know what's going to happen, but on the whole I really think that the future can change, you know? It's not set in stone yet, any choice we make can still change the eventual outcome." 

"Hmm... You don't even want to know the outcome of your love life? Even just a possible outcome?" he teased. 

"No." she smiled, still staring at the Ferris wheel. 

"And why ever not, dear?"

"Because." she turned to him now and pulled him closer, eyes sparkling. "I think it's obvious how this one turns out."

"Is it?" he leaned in towards her. 

"Oh, absolutely."

She would never forget what it was like to kiss him for the very first time, or the way he held her, or the way everything around them seemed to pause for those few moments before fading back into focus. The way her lips tingled when she pulled away and the carnival music played in the background and everywhere was lit up like a fairyland and the scent of cotton candy wafted on the gentle breeze. The way his hands slid across her back, and how for one moment they were the only two things that existed in the universe before suddenly being right back where they were a moment ago - only now everything was different. Everything was changed. And as she looked into his eyes that night, she wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
